I'm not sure if I buy it

I realize the movie had a very low budget, but I can't imagine it was so low that they had to shoot it in black and white to save money. Colors or not doesn't make much difference in the budget these days.

I admit from the trailer I was kind of hoping for a splash of color ala Sin City.. which was hinted at in the trailer. And to kind of catch the eye. but as it stands the film as is, would not feel right in color. The black and while while being a fiscal choice really is the best in terms of the aesthetic of the film.. and really does give it its own distinct look and feel. Which really does impact how well, to me, the film is received.

With the Ye Olde English dialogue.. the black and white feels like a throw back that kind of roots this modern world with this old language. I.. really don't know quite how to express the thought, it just seems this kind of old school filming technique seems to offset and maybe even, almost, cause for much of the film as far as I recall it felt more (the only thing I can think of as the film being "modern day" was at the very very end). Otherwise, and I think it would have fit beautifully, the film itself seems to have a look of the late 50s and early 60s.

Regardless its still a very sharp looking and to me more importantly FUN adaptation of the work. With the more modern setting sometimes the dialogue can be a bit hard to read in context so placing it in modern times the context is much more clear for those not used to hearing the language. So it can work for those who appreciate Shakespeare's use of language.. and those who don't can understand it in context of a modern setting (I admit, sadly I am sometimes more the latter than the former).

I thought it worked much better than the, and I know people love the Di Caprio Romeo and Juliet, but I was not one of them. They also, and I do give them points for the attempt, but it was a very completely stylized modernization that seemed to work to point itself out at just how modern of a retelling it was. Whedon's adaption I never felt was that whole..look at me.. look at me. While it may not be as vibrant without color, it is not as cheesy as Dennehy asking for his "broadsword", I seeing that scene only once just groaned. As it felt so cheesy a conceit, and the casting of Leguizamo as (was it Tybalt?). Everything in that adaptation felt like it needed to be over exaggerated.

So I appreaciate the restraint shown here. The dialogue is (for lack of one word I hear changed) kept intact. Nothing is made of the setting.. and its not drawn to itself in that way. So you begin, as you should in any story, just feel yourself drawn into it. That to me was the success of Whedon's "modernization" and where many similar efforts to my mind have failed.