I am a passionate fan of Les Mis, especially in the musical. There are few words to descrube just how it changed my life. But while surfing through as many versions as possible of Les Mis, one thing has started to make me very irritated.
People complaining about the movie cast (in particular, Russell Crowe). Chose any Les Mis video that's popular and you will find complaints. Why? I do not see why Russell Crowe was so bad. In fact, he's my second favorite Javert. Very few Les Miserables fans I've come across have liked his performance.
To be frank, while Norm Lewis is still my favorite Javert, I like Crowe's performance of "Stars" better. His voice is actually pretty good, and he's very passionate in his role. While most fans complain that Crowe seemed like he "just didn't care" I disagree. Isn't it in Javert's personality to be cold and emotionless? Keep in mind that this is a film, and the actors can be subtle. Onstage, it's necessary for them to be very passionate and evoke emotion, but on screen that isn't necessary.
What bothers me even more is that people complain far too much about Crowe before fawning over Helena
Bonham Carter. I didn't like Carter's Madame Thenardier at all. In fact, I think she ruined the character. She was a terrible singer, and overacted far too much. She was annoying and I just couldn't stand her. Sacha Baron Cohen was all right, he acted quite well and even proved to be a competent singer, but his fake French accent was just so aggravating. Why did he put on that accent? It ruined his performance as well, and I might have enjoyed him quite a bit if he hadn't used it. It sounded fake and sometimes he even forgot to use it. It might have been effective if he used it only during "The Wedding", since Thenardier is trying to be in disguise, but it felt then like he forgot about it.
As a whole, the movie cast is one of my favorites if you ignore Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. I wish people would stop with their silly complaints and pet peeves.
On the other hand, I think people are also whining too much about Nick Jonas. I wasn't mad for him, but he was all right. I didn't like him quite as much as Gareth Gates and Eddie Redmayne, but he was fine. One thing I did notice is that the only people who liked him tend to dislike Eddie.
I liked Nick Jonas AND Eddie Redmayne, and I'm not afraid to admit this.