I should probably start off by saying I’ve never been a huge Tim Burton fan. I’ve tried real hard to appreciate his work - the guy is admittedly a demented genius when it comes to imaginative visuals - but have never shaken the opinion that his body of work consists mostly of cool visuals. With rare exception, his stories are weak and his characters little more than caricatures. "Sweeney Todd" did little to change my opinion. Of course, the guy has legions of admirers, so perhaps saying this is definitely a Tim Burton film qualifies as praise.

Given Burton’s sensibilities, it isn’t surprising that he finally got around to doing a full-blown musical, nor is it at-all surprising that musical would be "Sweeney Todd," since it definitely fits within his body of work. Johnny Depp (who has saved many Burton films from being completely worthless) is the title character, a demented barber who returns to London to exact revenge on those who falsely imprisoned him and took away his family. Assisting him is Mrs. Lovett, a shopkeeper who makes meat pies. Together, they start doing away with the locals (as well as those who wronged Todd years ago) who come in for a shave, and are then processed into meat pies, which become all the rage in London.

As with all of Burton’s films, it looks great, and the musical numbers are often wickedly funny (if not a bit redundant after awhile). The cast is also quite good, especially Depp in the title role, as well as Alan Rickman as the lecherous judge and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. But, alas, like all of Burton’s other films, "Sweeney Todd" may be wonderful to look at, but it’s a hollow film, with over-the-top characters we never really invest much interest in. The same can be said of the story, which, once the plot is established, has nothing else to do but keep hitting us over the head with the same blackly-comedic premise over and over.