Movie Review: "Sweeny Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton team up once again to present a movie based on a Broadway play of the same name. Johnny Depp stars as barber Sweeny Todd. After a long exile for a crime he did not commit, Todd returns to 19th century London to set up a barber shop on Fleet Street. He finds his wife dead and his teenage daughter held captive by an evil magistrate. Todd uses his barber shop to exact vengeance on English aristocracy for his wrongful exile and loss of family.

The cinematography and sets are dark, but not flamboyant. The musical score and performance are worthy of the original Broadway hit. The story line and character development are sophisticated, but somewhat predictable. This movie would have earned a PG rating and been much more enjoyable but for the unnecessarily graphic and repeated throat slashings.