Overall, I thought it was a good movie! I see this getting an Oscar nomination for Best Production Design and maybe Best Original Song for Evermore. Most of the makeup and hairstyles were on point. The costumes weren't that great. The only scenes the costumes stood out were during the prologue, transformation, and the last scene. The sets, however, were beautiful!
As for the performances, everyone did a good job. I've never really been a Harry Potter fan, so I don't know much about Emma Watson's acting given that I've only seen 5 of the HP movies and did not pay particular attention to her. However, I watched The Bling Ring back in December and she was not good in that movie. Therefore, I was skeptical about this. After today, I can say she did okay. Emma is not a belter and doesn't have a voice of Broadway caliber, but she was still sweet and had a good enough voice to sustain. I don't know much about auto tuning, so I can't speak about that. She sounded good enough, but I wondered what a Broadway caliber voice could have really done with the role. I think she sang the best during How Does a Moment Last Forever (Montemere), perhaps because the song was written with her range in mind? As for her acting, she overacted. It was just too strong or too forced. Lily James felt like Cinderella. Emma Watson was Emma Watson playing Belle, if that makes sense? It was just too much. There were scene where she had tears in her eyes and I was like "Why is Belle crying during this?" However, she did have her moments, and her scenes with Dan were cute (after the wolf chase, of course).
Dan Stevens is an awesome singer! His Evermore was glorious! I did not know he had quite a voice! I was a fan of Downton Abbey, and watching this made me appreciate him more. The only place I was put off by his acting was the prologue. I felt the spoiled prince was too much of a farce to be believable. Besides that, he was great and could really dance! His transformation back into the prince was done well!
I think the stand out for everyone in the audience was Josh Gad! Of course he sounded like Olaf, but you tend to get over that quickly. Luke Evans was great as Gaston. He can really sing! The cast is really large, but basically everyone did a good job. Since I've seen all the trailers and whatnot, I've gotten used to Ewan's French accent, so that did not bother me. Of the supporting characters, people clapped hardest for Emma Thompson, Josh Gad, and Ian at the end of the picture.
The songs we love were done well. The best number was Be Our Guest. In that song, they changed the "10 years" lyric to "So long", if I can recall correctly. New lyrics also appeared during Gaston, The Mob Song, and Beauty and the Beast Reprise/Finale. Of the new songs, Evermore was the highlight for me. The second best one was Days in the Sun (btw, it is not Chip singing the boy's part). I think How Does a Moment Last Forever was my least favorite of the new songs. Maybe when I listen to it over and over again, I'll like it. I liked the Belle version of that song better than the Maurice version. Speaking of Maurice, it's kind of sad Maurice cannot be given a decent song. No Matter What and How Does a Moment Last Forever are both not that good compared to the rest of the score. The Aria Audra sings is really short, so I can't judge it. Also, there were two scenes where you heard Home in the score. It was a cool throwback! A lot of the lines and score were lifted from the animated movie. Even the transformation scene had the exact same score as the original movie.
As for what I didn't like. I think it was too fast-paced for me. I don't know if it was the editing or the script, but things kept happening rapidly. Another problem was the score was too loud and I couldn't hear some of the lyrics and dialogue. A final issue was that a lot of the scenery looked obviously CG, especially Belle reprise. That scene and song showed me how The Sound of Music would've looked if it came out today instead of 1965.
There were two interracial kisses, which was really cool. If you know the characters, then you know who the couples were. I thought it was odd we found out Cogsworth's first name, but not the prince's. As for the gay thing, I'm actually upset Disney revealed it because I kept looking for gay tendencies in LeFou throughout. I think if Disney didn't say it, I wouldn't have thought anything. Also, I totally figured out very early the guy who LeFou ends up with in the final scene. If you've paid attention to the clips that have been released and also pictures from screenings and premieres, you've seen the guy! There were two big "gay moments" and we all cheered during those scenes. But trust me, it's not a big deal at all! People are boycotting for dumb reasons. You will laugh and be like "Uhhh people are stupid for boycotting because of that little thing."
Overall, I think it was a good movie. Not perfect, but good. The people behind me (three guys, one girl, all in their 20s) thought the new songs sucked and one of them said they liked the movie but didn't love it (but tbh I heard their conversation before the movie and you would swear they thought they were Ebert and Roeper....eye roll), so I don't know if I would go by what they said. Personally, I thought Cinderella was better, but this was a good film. I almost teared up at the end and I never cry at movies, so there's that. I'm attending another screening this weekend and will definitely see it again in 3D once it premieres next week. Just like the Rotten Tomatoes ratings, I would say it's better than Maleficent, but not as good as Cinderella (Cinderella had better costumes and a better lead actress). I haven't seen Jungle Book yet. Furthermore, this made me excited to think what Disney could do with The Little Mermaid!