Truly Dreadful Film

Really Surprised!

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This is indeed a very cute modern adaptation of a classic tale. The dialogue is a bit weak to open but plays stronger as the characters develop and by the end is enchanting. Don't watch if you're an adrenal junkie and can be satisfied if the characters end up where they started. I enjoy watching movies with eye candy and this one is loaded with beautiful mountain scenes and overly clean houses. This is a worthwhile feel good story that left me smiling.

A better name for this would be 'A Tale of Two Bad Movies'. In fact the header in IMDb for this, titles the movie Beauty and the Beast – A Later-Day Tale, but … shows the cover art for Belle and the Beast—A Christian Romance. It really doesn't matter which one you see because they are both a total waste of your time. Since there are (at least) two different perspective about the reason these movies may have been made I will try to cover them both separately. If you are simply looking for an entertaining romantic parallel to the classic tale 'Beauty and the Beast', you can probably turn this movie off at least an hour quicker than if you are looking for the 'Christian' motive for watching it, but in either case there are plenty of speed bumps and road signs along the way to warn you that there is 'trouble ahead' in terms of every completely your journey. If you fall in the first category and aren't expecting this movie to explain the meaning of life, the first sign of trouble comes as the opening narration ends. The dialog sounds like it's being read from queue cards and the actors are almost always leaving gaps between each others comments as though they are afraid of stepping on each others lines. There are noticeable differences in the quality of the video from scene to scene, and in scenes where you see the lower halves of their bodies they even seem to be uncomfortable standing or walking as they perform. (The housekeeper seems to be the most uncomfortable as she escorts Belle in to see 'The Beast'. It's like she has a board nailed to her back.) Continuity is a real problem as well. At one point where Belle is supposed to be putting some clothes in a closet, she appears to have an attack of Alzheimer's as she suddenly starts wandering around in one of the rooms, walks to a book shelf, and then … without explanation, begins to read in a very random way, from the Bible (or from what I've heard is, in the Mormon version, the Book of Mormon.) Both of the main characters also appear to be bi-polar. To some extent 'the beast' should be, but not the way the story exemplifies him, and Belle at one point goes into a rant about how impossible he is, but then later seems to be totally sympathetic to his fits of anger. Another major inconsistency involves the beast and his alcoholism relapse. This an unrealistic plot point where the story suggests that he has a FULL bottle that he keeps as a reminder of the past. RIGHT! Long story short … This movie has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. If you aren't interested in this movie from a Christian viewpoint, you can quit reading here but if you are familiar with the Bible, or just want to read more, there are far bigger problems which I will go into now.I keep reading comments that give this movie high praise for its Christian underpinning, but it seems impossible that we're viewing the same movie. What am I missing here? How do you get a Christian movie that doesn't even mention Christ in the story, much less give Him full credit as mankind's Redeemer! Redemption is the most important message that a Christian movie could convey and this bit of theatrical tripe not only fails to include that, it barely even fringes the existence of a god, who is mostly absent and nearly impossible to believe in, because he hasn't fulfilled every hope and dream that we feel we deserve. From what I've read, the original version (subtitled 'A Later-Day Tale') didn't even use the Bible as a prop but instead used the so called Book of Mormon. In the version subtitled 'A Christian Romance' they also changed the name of the story by changing 'Beauty' to 'Belle' and additionally they changed the credited stage names of the 2 primary actors to reduce the likelihood of people even making the connection that the one that is subtitled 'A Christian Romance' is actually just the 'Mormon propaganda version' with a couple of scenes replaced. The most emphatic discussion in the whole story is an argument about destroying a copy of the Bible and the initial reason for the anger is because 'it's a nice copy' and even in the follow-up … the argument that it is 'God's word' fails to clarify the difference between the printed pages and the Author's message. It may come as a shock to a lot of people, but simply making a story which mention some sort of a god and doesn't have lusty dialog, bare skin or vulgar or profane language in it, doesn't make it Christian. Good behavior does not entitle anyone to their eternal reward. If man were vindicated by good behavior, then Christ died needlessly. (Galatians 2:21)

This was a good movie. I didn't know the premise when I first started watching it but it soon became apparent. It very much followed the premise of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, at least at first. Of course, this one has a Christian spin on it. The story follows the budding romance between Belle and her boss, Eric Landry. Unlike the original, Eric's ugliness isn't external but internal. He is often brash and short tempered with Belle, but soon he starts to soften and their "romance" begins to blossom, especially when I sees Belle more than just a tool to be used but a person, an equal.I thoroughly enjoyed watching it and wished it was available on DVD.

Didn't expect much -- avoided seeing it in its very brief theatrical run -- then heard some good things about it when my brother watched it on DVD. Turns out that BEAUTY & THE BEAST: A LATTER-DAY TALE is a delightful film that is both romantic, touching and thought-provoking. The leads have a chemistry that works and the telling of the familiar story has enough twists and originality to make it compelling. Technically there are a few weaknesses (some shots are on the soft side), but the direction, script and music all blend well together to provide a very enjoyable film. I'm glad that I didn't overlook this one -- for it's a "Gem"!