Not so great 'Gatsby'?

"I loved it." "Well, I hated it."

There seems to a split vote on how people feel about F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel "The Great Gatsby." But most movie critics seem to be agreement with each other, with the majority calling the movie version a limp, lackluster retelling of the novel. Heavy on the visuals and light on substance seems to be the resounding cry.

I read the book for the first time in preparation to see the remake. As far as how I felt about the novel, I might be in the smallest percentage group - I'm fairly neutral on the book. Though the book has been a quick and easy read, it is a story that has been retold many times since it first came out; I hesitate at seeing the movie, knowing how the book ends. (And in the heavy hands of director Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge," "Romeo and Juliet"), "overkill" might be an understatement as to how the ending might be treated.)

The book must have been something of a novel concept when it was first published, giving a solid sympathetic portrayal of a meek, married man who shoots the man he believes to be his wife's lover. But in today's world, the story has lost its luster and stories about unhinged romantic partners have become almost routine. But for many naysayers, much of the unpleasantness in the book derives from characters who are ugly in spirit, and that doesn't always sit well with readers who want protagonists with some degree of integrity. (Though we see the characters and scenery through the eyes of the narrator, Nick Carraway, who describes himself as an honest man, and perhaps that's why we see these characters in a semi-unflattering light.)

While I don't have high expectations for the movie, based partly upon what some renowned critics are saying, the visuals look lovely with frothy dresses created to replicate the style of 1920s fashion. Hopefully, the visuals aren't the best part of the movie adaptation of "The Great Gatsby," and the retelling isn't as light and flimsy as the dresses.

Though as one reviewer states, "it’s best to accept before buying the popcorn that this is not a literary adaptation but a 3-D blockbuster, with Gatsby as the superhero." High expectations may have to be put aside.