Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Okay, well, I have seen this film and now I will react.
You guys all know the plot, and it remains the same as the classic animated film, so I don't need to repeat that.
First of all, Emma Watson is completely brilliant as Belle, singing and all, but seriously, why was her skirt still tucked into her bloomers? It was distracting at best and inappropriate at worst.
Dan Stevens was also good, though his singing voice wasn't the greatest. But when he appears in human form, his hair is too long and he especially has too much make-up on at the beginning before the curse begins.
Kevin Kline is solid as Maurice, the inventor, but how does he get home after Belle sets him free as his noble steed stays at the forgotten palace with Belle and the Beast.
Luke Evans is fine as the nasty, narcissistic Gaston, far more in love with himself than anyone else and he is inflexible when it comes to his bride, he only wants Belle, none of the other women who fancy him.
Josh Gad is adequate as LeFou, Gaston's sidekick. Sure, he may have theater experience but his character just doesn't work well next to Evans's Gaston. He isn't as funny as he should be.
Then there are all the voice actors and they are incredible: Stanley Tucci, Emma Thompson, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ewan McGregor and Ian McKellen. While I love all of them, all of the pairing off at the end of the film wasn't the greatest decision. You needed to see more of them as humans at the end to make the couplings more believable.
Of course, I also have problems with the story as a whole. Gaston is a backwards thinking man, as is the whole village, scolding Belle when she tries to teach a female child to read, and certainly he would have been cruel to Belle but the Beast isn't exactly a catch, locking her up in his palace. Sure, he does change, getting kinder and sweeter as the course of the film wears on, but you can't overlook the fact that he was going to keep Belle imprisoned for the rest of her life. At least now she is staying there because she wants to, not because she has to. That is at least something.
The film is also spectacular to behold with the Be Our Guest scene being both brilliant and over-the-top. The camera work is top-notch and thank goodness for Watson's strong performance. That alone is the reason I will watch the film over and over again. Grade: B