Timothy Scott Bogart’s Juliet & Romeo aspires to reframe the world’s most enduring romantic tragedy as a pop-infused spectacle that breaks free from its Shakespearean roots and lands somewhere between a concept album and historical revisionist fantasy. But despite lofty ambitions and flashes of stylistic flair, this 2025 musical romantic drama ends up as a misjudged experiment — one that drowns its emotional weight and narrative coherence beneath layers of glitzy overproduction and tonal confusion.

Pop Music Over Poetry:
This film is defined by a bold, polarizing conceit: to abandon Shakespeare’s iconic iambic pentameter for a soundtrack of original pop songs intended to “rocket” the story’s timeless themes into a modern emotional register. This might have worked had the music been as transcendent and memorable as the creators hoped, but what results instead is a barrage of generically-produced, auto-tuned tracks that range from bland to bewildering. While some numbers attempt to channel the angst, passion, and defiance of young love, they often feel misplaced or cloying, especially when layered over medieval costumes and stone-wall backdrops.
The musical interludes, rather than heightening emotional moments, often dilute them — deflating tension with choreography that feels more 2020s TikTok than 1301 Verona. It’s clear that lots of the songs strive to evoke the grandeur of Moulin Rouge! or The Greatest Showman, but without the lyrical sophistication or melodic strength to justify their melodrama. Even when the cast throws themselves into these songs with passion, the thinness of the material and the jarring genre clash undermines any sense of immersion.
A Clumsy Reimagining of Shakespeare’s Tragedy:
While the idea of reimagining Romeo and Juliet in a pre-Shakespearean historical setting is intriguing, the film’s script feels confused about what it wants to accomplish with that framing. Bogart’s screenplay alludes to a grander, more politically significant plot — something about a hidden truth destined to shape the future of the Empire — but never truly commits to the world-building or exposition needed to make this alternate history compelling.
Instead, the film leans on recognizability, constantly referencing the original text while stripping away its depth. Gone are the philosophical musings, linguistic richness, and complex moral undertones. What remains is a skeletal outline of the original tragedy, padded with vague prophecies and half-hearted attempts to modernize the story’s themes. There’s an odd juxtaposition between the medieval setting and the glossy, pop-modern tone that creates a persistent sense of dissonance, making it hard to take either the romance or the stakes seriously.
A Couple Lacking Chemistry:
As Juliet and Romeo, Clara Rugaard and Jamie Ward are visually well-matched, but emotionally misaligned. Rugaard, previously seen in I Am Mother, brings a flicker of defiance and introspection to Juliet, though her performance is frequently hamstrung by a script that gives her little to do beyond swooning or belting. Her vocals are strong, but not distinctive, often blending into the bland production around her.
Jamie Ward fares slightly worse as Romeo, playing the role with an earnestness that borders on insipid. There’s little fire or conflict in his performance — Romeo becomes a vessel for lovesick clichés rather than a fully realized character. Together, Rugaard and Ward share a few fleeting moments of chemistry, especially during their secret wedding sequence, but overall they lack the spark that should define one of literature’s most famous couples.
A Wasted Supporting Cast:
What makes Juliet & Romeo even more frustrating is how thoroughly it squanders its strong supporting cast. Jason Isaacs, always a commanding screen presence, is criminally underused as Lord Montague, reduced to barking vague political threats with no real substance. Tayla Parx’s Rosaline is reimagined as a spirited, pop-forward counterpoint to Juliet, but the script doesn’t give her character enough narrative purpose or development to justify her expanded role.
Nicholas Podany as Mercutio attempts to bring levity and edge to the story, but his scenes feel shoehorned in, often serving as setups for comedic musical numbers that clash with the film’s somber climax. Meanwhile, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street, Coda) is disappointingly one-note as Tybalt — his fiery presence dulled by an underwhelming song and shallow motivations.
Visuals That Impress:
Thankfully, though, the movie does look pretty good from a visual standpoint. Cinematographer Byron Werner brings an atmospheric richness to the film’s candle-lit interiors and mist-covered landscapes. The production design occasionally succeeds in marrying medieval textures with theatrical grandeur, particularly in the masquerade ball sequence, where visual excess briefly aligns with the film’s ambition.
However, even the visuals can’t escape the dissonance of tone. The direction by Bogart often feels unsure — caught between trying to respect the weight of the tragedy and indulging in flashy, music-video-style montages that trivialize it.
A Hollow, Glossy Tragedy:
Juliet & Romeo wants to be many things — a reinvention of Shakespeare, a pop opera, a historical fantasy, a commentary on love and legacy — but in attempting to be everything, it ends up being very little. The film’s failure is not in its ambition but in its execution: a musical that trades timeless poetry for ephemeral pop, and potent emotion for surface-level spectacle.
Even as the final act leans into tragedy, the film undercuts its own impact with a hasty, baffling conclusion that tries to twist the original ending into something more uplifting and “revolutionary.” But this change robs the story of its catharsis and feels more like a studio note than a meaningful reinterpretation.
Overall:
Juliet & Romeo is a glossy misfire — a film that mistakes style for substance and novelty for depth. It wants to update Shakespeare for the modern age with song and spectacle, but it strips the story of its soul in the process. Despite a committed cast and fleeting visual beauty, it is ultimately a shallow, jumbled reimagining that will disappoint both purists and musical fans alike. This might be the “greatest love story of all time,” but in this iteration, it’s more karaoke tragedy than timeless romance.

Juliet & Romeo Review: A Pop Musical Reimagining That Falls Flat

Acting – 5/10

Cinematography/Visual Effects – 7/10

Plot/Screenplay – 3/10

Setting/Theme – 3/10

Watchability – 2/10

Rewatchability – 1/10

User Review

0
(0 votes)

Summary
Juliet & Romeo is a glossy misfire — a film that mistakes style for substance and novelty for depth. It wants to update Shakespeare for the modern age with song and spectacle, but it strips the story of its soul in the process. Despite a committed cast and fleeting visual beauty, it is ultimately a shallow, jumbled reimagining that will disappoint both purists and musical fans alike. This might be the “greatest love story of all time,” but in this iteration, it’s more karaoke tragedy than timeless romance.

Pros

It can oftentimes be a really good-looking movie with solid cinemtography
The concept is one that can be appreciated

Cons

The songs are incredibly boring and instantly forgettable
Too much autotune
It feels like a shallow attempt to retell this beloved story
Performances that feel weak

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Acting

Cinematography/Visual Effects

Plot/Screenplay

Setting/Theme

Watchability

Rewatchability

Summary: Timothy Scott Bogart’s Juliet & Romeo aspires to reframe the world’s most enduring romantic tragedy as a pop-infused spectacle that breaks free from its Shakespearean roots and lands somewhere between a concept album and historical revisionist fantasy. But despite lofty ambitions and flashes of stylistic flair, this 2025 musical romantic drama ends up as a misjudged experiment — one that drowns its emotional weight and narrative coherence beneath layers of glitzy overproduction and tonal confusion.

1.9

Musical Tragedy