Much Ado About Nothing

Last year Joss Whedon gave us the years biggest film with 'The Avengers'. This year he scales down his operation for a smaller film.
I love Shakespeare. I am one of those people who thinks he one of the best writers of all time. I've not seen many of his plays performed live on stage but have seen quite a few movie versions. I always have a great deal of respect for film makers who make one of Shakespeare's plays in modern times. The best so far has been Baz Luhrman's version of 'Romeo + Juliet'. As a Joss Whedon fan I had very high expectations for this film. These expectations were met. My knowledge of 'Much Ado About Nothing' came from the Kenneth Branagh interpretation in 1993. But I have not seen it recently so it was almost like seeing the play fresh. Joss has done an excellent job of transposing the classic verse of Shakespeare to modern times. I know many people will find it jarring as we are so used to seeing people in today's times speaking the way we normally do, so when they speak differently it can be off putting. But Shakespeare's dialogue transcends time. I think there were some elements of the story that needed up dating but otherwise it is an excellent translation. I am also a fan of black and white photography so I loved the look of the film as well. Joss does take a certain seriousness to the material but there are some of his more wackier moments to break it up.  
Joss has taken some of the lesser known actors from his films and TV series to cast this film. Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker make a brilliant couple. They both handle the dialogue well and their chemistry makes their rivalry seem superfluous. Clark Gregg has established his credentials from the Marvel movies and so you don't need me to tell you how great he is. Fran Kranz is very sweet and adorable as the badly done by Claudio. His love interest Jillian Morgese is equally as sweet. They make a lovely couple. Nathan Fillion is a comedic genius and he's backed up by the equally as hilarious Tom Lenk. They are a brilliant comedy duo.
I'm not sure that it will be to everyone's tastes but this is still an excellent interpretation of Shakespeare. Further proof of the genius that is Joss Whedon.