I had low expectations (based on the trailer) and the film mostly lived up to them.
On the plus side, I liked the costumes (Daisy's gowns were gorgeous) and the hair. The production design and music weren't as good as I thought they would be--Gatsby's lavish parties didn't dazzle me as I expected (esp. knowing Baz's previous work in Strictly Ballroom, Romeo+Juliet and Moulin Rouge). Note: I saw it in 2D. Music was under done, I felt.
The framing device (Nick recounting the story to a doctor while in a sanatorium) was completely unnecessary; narrating in voiceover was enough.
Liked Carey Mulligan as Daisy (although wonder if Michelle Williams might have been a better choice). Leo and Tobey were OK as Gatsby and Nick. Joel Edgerton was fine as Tom.
The movie was overly long, too, and the pacing was plodding. It's not a story where there's a lot of plot moving the action forward, and I would have thought Luhrman would have kept the tempo up.
Not a disaster, and if it turns high school students on to the book, all the better. But I'd just as soon read the book again. I'm sure I've read it 3 times already.
Coach Bob knew it all along: you've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed. You have to keep passing the open windows. (John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire)