Chicago

Elegant musical entertainment that has style, flair and tons of energy. But it’s still just superficial and cold entertainment that won’t appeal to you nearly as much as the more powerful and more emotional masterpiece Moulin Rouge!. (02.04.2003)

Nonsensical acting and screenwriting Oscar nominations shake hands with technical brilliance in 100 minutes of entertainment that flies by. The music is perfect, led by the catchy hit "All That Jazz" (I love jazz), and the choreography of the dance numbers is remarkable, the most striking of which were the journalist "puppets" on strings with a great performance by the pleasantly surprising Gere and Zellweger. The latter, like Zeta-Jones, sings very well, dances brilliantly, but unfortunately also shows off her limited acting range with position #1: "dumb Bridget". As a result, I felt like I was sitting in some fancy Chicago club, watching one jazz-dance act after another in a show about two murderesses and one greedy defense attorney, ignoring the fact that all that bombastic glitz is hiding a flimsy script and an unexciting plot. The main thing was that the eyes and ears were happy. And they were pouring great champagne too... (14.07.2006)

I expected almost nothing from Chicago and maybe that’s why I had so much fun. My heart still belongs to the other great musical from the early 21st century (the time they were made, BTW, is the only thing Chicago and Moulin Rouge have in common), but it still deserves a thumbs up; it’s certainly not the undeserved Oscar winner many people say. (18.02.2011)

The perfect kind of musical? Never getting bored, even for a minute! And that's where Rob Marshall comes in. Under his leadership, the heavy story transforms into an elegant and sophisticated spectacle with an excellent leading trio of actors (especially Catherine Zeta-Jones, captivating in her sexy demonic posing and seductive voice), though at certain moments they should cut the singing, since a song revolving around a noose, for example, is clearly unnecessary. To a certain extent, however, I understand the flood of Oscars; even years later, this is an incredible feast for the eyes. (13.07.2023)

Chicago one of those films that you might not necessarily dislike, let alone throw away, but doesn’t offer practically anything new or innovative, and you will probably to avoid a feeling of boredom during the screening. The captivatingly shot dance scenes in the cabarets do not make up for the rather dismal screenplay and main plot. The performances are excellent, and above all, the actors are the engine of the whole film, without whom it would suffer from the boredom syndrome even a little more than it should be healthy. (26.10.2003)

Actually, it was only the Oscar triumph that lured me to this otherwise somewhat underrated musical, but I certainly don't regret it. And this is thanks to the pleasantly funny story, mostly from a prison setting, which does not spare black humour while irradiating good mood. And then mainly because of the actors and the choreographies performed by everyone involved. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere and John C. Reilly give quite possibly the performances of their lives, and the confused cackle of Renée Zellweger, who apparently still hasn't driven Bridget out of her head, fits in perfectly. And if we also take into account Danny Elfman's music, the costumes and the sets, the Oscar it’s not so embarrassing... (12.07.2012)

It was not an experience I would never forget, probably also because I simply know these songs here. However, they are not the absolute best. The best thing about it is undoubtedly the format, where cabaret scenes intertwine with the classical storylines. It is a celebration of cabaret and its beautiful cynicism, as well as the cynicism of people in general. Anyone can be a star, anyone can become a star. All it takes is good marketing. A musical that has an idea. Excellent. It's just a pity that I didn't see the film in a better mood. It must have looked great on stage. (16.03.2014)

I love movies set in "the olden days" and this movie is absolutely great and fascinating too! I found it really entertaining and the cast couldn’t have been better; the roles fitted each actor like a glove. And it was a pleasure to listen to the quality musical performances and the production design was a feast for the eyes. You just have to love Chicago; I haven’t ever seen a better musical on the silver screen. (18.03.2014)