Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is an amazing piece of work. Based on the beloved musical by Stephen Sondheim, this big screen adaptation has been brought to blood soaked life by the gifted Tim Burton, a film maker whose sensibility is all but tailor made for this particular source material. The end result is Burton's best work since 1994's grossly underappreciated Ed Wood.

In Sweeney Todd, Johnny Depp appears as Benjamin Barker, a once loving family man who returns to his home (Victorian England) after having his life all but stolen from him by the villainous Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). The homecoming is bittersweet and clearly, Barker is not at all the same man he once was. Consumed by hate and rampant visions of revenge, Barker changes his name to Sweeney Todd and begins plotting his course of action. Soon, he conspires with quirky meat pie maker Mrs. Lovett (played by Helena Bonham Carter) to pay back his tormenters by way of a blade to the throat.

As previously mentioned, this material perfectly caters to Burton's sensibility as a film maker. Certainly, Sweeney Todd offers up shades of the director's past works (most notably Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Sleepy Hollow) and upon viewing this endeavor, it's easy to see why Burton was attracted to the project.

Johnny Depp is positively mesmerizing as Todd. His sense of rage and brooding is constant throughout the entire film, and even though this character continuously commits horrific acts, Depp somehow manages to keep Todd sympathetic and in some respects, even likable. This is yet another testament to Depp's extraordinary (and naturalistic) skill as a performer. What's more, he pulls off the musical numbers with style and grace in what could be best described as a homage to music icon David Bowie. Helena Bonham Carter is a delight with her eccentricities and fitting, saucer shaped eyes. While she hasn't quite got the musical chops to completely sell the character, her timing is spot on and the chemistry between she and Depp is undeniable. Also turning in winning performances are Alan Rickman (who always seems to excel in bad guy mode), Timothy Spall (hilariously sleazy as Rickman's right hand man), young Ed Sanders (wonderfully energetic as ragamuffin Toby), and a perfectly over the top Sacha Baron Cohen (who manages to provide what little comic relief this dark film has to offer as Todd's rival barber).

Quite obviously, Sweeney Todd won't appeal to those who hate big, theatrical musical numbers. This is, after all, a musical, therefore songs come with the territory. Having said that, Burton really is at the top of his game here. Working from an adaptation by John Logan (The Aviator, Gladiator), Burton captures the spirit of Sondheim's musical all while managing to put his own unmistakable cutthroat stamp on the project. Sweeney Todd is a perfect mesh of song, dance, tragedy, black comedy, romanticism and the macabre. There are a couple of subplots and a few characters that feel slightly short changed (the bond that develops between lovesick Anthony Hope and his crush Johanna plays like an afterthought), but given the enormity of the source material, it was obvious that sacrifices would have to be made. The heart of the film remains intact. Furthermore, Burton is able to use the film medium to it's fullest advantage. Yes, Sweeney Todd is extremely theatric, but it offers up a size and scope that only a movie can deliver--something Joel Schumacher was unable to pull off with his glossy, overrated take on Phantom of the Opera.

Sweeney Todd is a bleak, gruesome bit of nasty business to be sure (thankfully, the over the top, cartoonish nature of the violence takes a bit of the edge off), but Burton manages to inject beauty and charm into these rather dark proceedings. Even though this is ultimately a tragic tale about a man consumed (and done in) by vengeance, it's a powerful, poetic cinematic experience nonetheless. With Sweeney Todd, Burton and Depp have delivered some of the best work of their respective careers.