This was probably one of Shakespeare's weaker plays, at least based on the evidence presented here. There seems to be no point to the movie, other than pointing out that Jews were persecuted and prostitutes bared their breasts in 16th century Venice. With Shakespeare, what's most important is the words, not the plot. Unfortunately, the words are often not clearly enunciated in this lavish but dull and heavy-handed production. Irons is the worst offender, mumbling his lines in a lackluster performance. Pacino is typically blustery as Shylock, but his New York accent is hard to overlook. Fiennes is just too limited an actor to be interesting.
Review of The Merchant of Venice
