Leonato (Clark Gregg) the governor of Messina is visited by his friend Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) who is returning from a victorious campaign against his rebellious brother Don John (Sean Maher). Accompanying Don Pedro are two of his officers Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Claudio (Fran Kranz). While in Messina Claudio falls for Leonatos daughter Hero (Jillian Morgese) while Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice (Amy Acker) the governors niece. The budding love between Claudio and Hero prompts Don Pedro to arrange with Leonato for a marriage. In the days leading up to the ceremony Don Pedro with the help of Leonato Claudio and Hero attempts to sport with Benedick and Beatrice in an effort to trick the two into falling in love. Meanwhile the villainous Don John with the help of his allies Conrade (Riki Lindhome) and Borachio (Spencer Treat Clark) plots against the happy couple using his own form of trickery to try to destroy the marriage before it begins. A series of comic...
Review
Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon is the latest adaptation of the Shakespeare's comedy.
The good. Excellent ideas. Very funny settings and actions. Nice choice of actors. With visual it's always possible to add non spoken actions to original dialogs and Whedon made some clever extensions. Great photography.
The actors. My favorite performance were by Nathan Fillion Sean Maher and Tom Lenk although I came to appreciate those of Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof a lot.
The bad. The concept of war as spoken in the piece doesn't translate well in modern time.
The ugly. Nothing.
The result. Solid entertainment for those who like modern transposition of Shakespeare's work A must for any Whedon fan.