Shakespeare Meets James Bond: Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo and Juliet'

by Duncan Jeynes

Romeo and Juliet. Boring Shakespearean Tragedy? Dream on! Bad Luhrmann’s 1996 adaptation is more like a James Bond movie than an ancient play. I think they made a mistake in the title! With some intense gun fights, a few shouty police officers and a sprinkle of heart-wrenching romance, this thrilling tale will keep you on the sofa for hours!

But what is it about this phenomenon that makes it so gripping?

The Montagues and the Capulets have always had a place on the shelf of an English classroom and still do today. But why? Well, it’s because the story of Romeo and Juliet provides some well needed life lessons for the youngsters growing up in today’s world. For instance, everyone’s favourite: romance. All the modern day teens are obsessed with finding a guy or girl to go out with. Now Romeo and Juliet demonstrate what falling in love is really like and they do it rather well. Many teenage viewers are likely to be at the age where they are falling in love for the first time, and this incredible film provides them with an idea of what romance is really like. It also gives them some absolutely necessary advice about what to do and what not to do in a relationship, for example, poisoning yourself while your girlfriend’s asleep! And this is why it remains relevant to kids today.

Violence is another big draw! The number of gang fights in this epic tale is quite high for something that kids should read. However, children growing up in this day and age know gang crime all too well and have the misfortune of seeing terrorist attacks and daily stabbings on the news. Shakespeare’s Montagues and Capulets run riot in Verona and there are quite a few scenes where blood is split. Even though it’s sword fighting, it still counts as conflict. And this is another reason why it can be found on an English teacher’s bookshelf, because it contains content that happens in the real world, as well as the virtual one.

Finally, our friend Shakespeare decided to throw in a couple of sets of irritating parents. Fulgencio is very controlling especially when Juliet says that she doesn’t want to marry Paris. Now, even though this is a very extreme case of parental anger (particularly the death threat), kids going through puberty also get quite a bit of flack from their parents. Even though the kid usually starts it, arguments are common in both Elizabethan Verona and the 21st century, and this is why the government insists on it being taught: because it’s relevant to modern day kids.

So now we know why this wonder is still relevant to kids in the 21st century, what is it about Baz Luhrmann’s ‘James Bond and Juliet’ that makes it even more relevant? Well, it’s the fact that he’s brought it bang up to date! The 1996 film is set in the modern day. So there are guns instead of swords, cars instead of carriages, modern clothes instead of robes and dresses and skyscraper-type towers instead of ancient palaces. 

But what effect does this give? Well, let’s take the guns as an example. Kids today are not interested in swords. Any history teachers out there, you have to face it, they're just not. They much prefer guns, boys especially.  Firstly, because they see police with guns on the news and the gun is the weapon used most commonly in this day and age and secondly, guns are central to the virtual world, which many kids live in. So, the use of guns instead of swords, grabs any teenage viewer and makes it more interesting and easier to follow the story.

It’s the same with the other examples: clothes, transport and buildings. If kids of the 21st century are watching the more traditional version of Romeo and Juliet, they would find it more boring. For them, it would be like staring at a walking, talking museum for two hours. They need something that will excite them or get them hooked. Attention spans are so short in today’s world kids struggle to engage with something they can’t relate to. It’s that simple! However, when they are watching something which has a lot going on and involves guns or intense car chases, they are completely enticed by it, despite the strange language. 

Not only that it gets them hooked, it also makes it easier to follow the story. The use of a modern setting makes the tale more relatable. This is because teenagers can understand what is going on more easily when cars and guns are involved, rather than swords and carriages because they are used to seeing cars all the time, and guns now and again. However, they have less experience with swords and carriages and know a lot less about them. So if the play was set in Elizabeth times, they would find it less interesting and harder to understand.

So is there anything that needs to be improved about this astounding movie or is absolute perfection? Well, I could not think of a single thing that needed looking at. This fantastic story absolutely has it all! Romance, violence, drama, tension, crime, blood and death. All mixed together create an excellent two hours of film, sandwiched in the middle of a news report giving us the well-known headlines of the prologue and chorus. This modernisation of the Shakespearean tale works extremely well and even attracts a new generation of 21st century viewers. Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play their respective roles of Romeo and Juliet incredibly well and demonstrate to the world the consequences of conflict and war. A message we should all take to heart.

So what’s left to say? Shakespeare is still loved today because his plays remain relevant to today’s world. Baz Luhrmann has modernised the old fashioned ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and turned it into a thrilling movie, full of high-speed car chases, dramatic gun fights and doomed romance, which is why I wouldn’t change a thing! My only message would be, if you haven’t yet, go see it. You will be hooked forever.