I saw this movie when it was premiered on Channel 4 for the first time on Sunday 13 September, this year and I have to say that afterwards I thought it was okay, at best.
Take The Lead is basically 'Fame' mixed in with elements from the Australian flick, 'Strictly Ballroom' and 'Dangerous Minds'- but whereas those movies in their own way, captured the essence of triumph over adversity and the idea of working hard to get to where you want to be and in Fame's case, combining it with dance, Take The Lead doesn't necessarily quite hit the mark.
It wasn't by any means awful, but neither was it fantastic- yet it was entertaining to say the least. I expected more in terms of what was happening, but it just didn't materialise throughout the duration of the movie.
I did feel that some parts of the movie were a little too over-exaggerated and corny, but they didn't put me off from watching it the whole way through.
Antonio Banderas's performance wasn't his best, but with regards to the material he was given, he made the most out of it and at times, he really asserted his authority in this film. As his character tries to instill confidence, passion to his students and motivating them to take a keen interest in ballroom dancing.
The choreography was good though- well executed and captured and shot on camera brilliantly, the acting was good in places, but the script was somewhat of a letdown.
I really wanted to enjoy this movie a lot- instead, it didn't live up to what I expected from it, and I expected more from 'Take The Lead'.
The ending especially disappointed me and I felt this was a let down, given that it didn't go to great lengths to tie up the loose ends of the characters' own predicaments. I'm not sure that many people who have watched or will watch the movie will buy that ending completely. I didn't.
If you're expecting something similar on the lines of 'Fame', 'Strictly Ballroom' then you can forget it. It is entertaining to watch yes and it is not bad, but that's about it. If you do watch 'Take the Lead', then it is probably best to do so for the choreography than for anything else.
Take The Lead is basically 'Fame' mixed in with elements from the Australian flick, 'Strictly Ballroom' and 'Dangerous Minds'- but whereas those movies in their own way, captured the essence of triumph over adversity and the idea of working hard to get to where you want to be and in Fame's case, combining it with dance, Take The Lead doesn't necessarily quite hit the mark.
It wasn't by any means awful, but neither was it fantastic- yet it was entertaining to say the least. I expected more in terms of what was happening, but it just didn't materialise throughout the duration of the movie.
I did feel that some parts of the movie were a little too over-exaggerated and corny, but they didn't put me off from watching it the whole way through.
Antonio Banderas's performance wasn't his best, but with regards to the material he was given, he made the most out of it and at times, he really asserted his authority in this film. As his character tries to instill confidence, passion to his students and motivating them to take a keen interest in ballroom dancing.
The choreography was good though- well executed and captured and shot on camera brilliantly, the acting was good in places, but the script was somewhat of a letdown.
I really wanted to enjoy this movie a lot- instead, it didn't live up to what I expected from it, and I expected more from 'Take The Lead'.
The ending especially disappointed me and I felt this was a let down, given that it didn't go to great lengths to tie up the loose ends of the characters' own predicaments. I'm not sure that many people who have watched or will watch the movie will buy that ending completely. I didn't.
If you're expecting something similar on the lines of 'Fame', 'Strictly Ballroom' then you can forget it. It is entertaining to watch yes and it is not bad, but that's about it. If you do watch 'Take the Lead', then it is probably best to do so for the choreography than for anything else.