A tour de force of of British acting royalty are on offer here … oh and Annette Bening, and Robert Downey Jr. In the vein of Lurman’s Romeo and Juliet, Richard III is a modernisation of the classic Shakespeare play. McKellen does an excellent job at adapting the screenplay and playing the lead. However, this film does seem to show its eighteen years in age and its spark of ingenuity has somewhat lost something over time. Worth watching for the performances alone.