Before starting this review, I'm going to have to put my hands up and say that I have never had the opportunity of seeing a Shakespeare play on stage. Being a film fan/critic, my only experiences of the Bard are in movies like Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Hamlet etc plus the obvious studies back at school. I was also, I'm sorry to say, totally unfamiliar of the source material for The Merchant of Venice.

So, the story breaks down like this. Set in 16th century Venice, the film follows Antonio (Jeremy Irons) who approaches Jew Shylock (Al Pacino) to lend him a sum of money to help his close friend Bassanio (Joseph Fiennes) win the heart of rich, noble totty, Portia whose castle lies on the island of Belmont. When loaning the money, Shylock refuses to charge interest on the loan and agrees that Antonio should give up a 'pound of flesh' should he not repay the money on time. Little does Antonio know, that Shylock holds a grudge against him and when he fails to repay the debt on time, the Jew sets out to claim his bond as agreed, in full.

As we approach the end of 2004, let me lay it on the line and say straight up, The Merchant of Venice is right up there as one of my favourite films of the year. It's like nothing else you will see on the screen this year. It contains one of the best performance from any cast you will see this year. It is a film that will grip you like a tight vice grip as it approaches its tantalizing climax like no other film that will will see this year. Oh, and it contains perhaps the highest breast count in any PG movie ever!

There are a number of actors working in the film industry today that are utterly watchable in everything they do. Al Pacino is one of them, and he owns The Merchant of Venice, and he, along with his fellow actors make the movie as entertaining, compelling and moving as it is. Writer, director Michael Radford has assembled a superb lineup of actors that as an ensemble effort, make this film the entertaining piece of celluloid that it is. Apart from Pacino, both Joseph Fiennes and veteran Jeremy Irons contribute fine performances in their central roles, but for me, the standout acting role belongs to the relatively unknown Lynn Collins as Portia. Take away her small role in this years 13 Going on 30, this is one of her first appearances on screen, and what a role - what a performance. Look out for this young starlet in the future.

Radford has done a wonderful job of bringing this adaptation of The Merchant of Venice to the screen. Sure, he has added different pieces that do not appear in the source material to make this more "film friendly" so to speak, but I really do believe that he has accomplished all that he set out to do - bring a new adaptation of an old tale to the screen, that people of all ages will enjoy. The only thing that let the movie down for me is a rather weaker midsection and the rather lackluster ending after such a thrilling lead-up where the 'loose ends' are tied up. Believe me, these are small points and the twenty minute climax that leads to the downfall of one of the leads more than makes up for this.

I had to opportunity to briefly meet Michael Radford shortly after the screening, where I told the director how much I enjoyed his film. He said that I should go tell my readers and friends exactly what I thought of the film. I kind of understand what he was trying to say. This film will possibly not reach as far as it deserves to, but warrants the ticket price alone for the superb performances from the talented cast and it's another opportunity to see film royalty like Al Pacino let rip and dominate yet another motion picture that he almost always does. And boy, don;t we love it when he does that.