The critically acclaimed Broadway show “ Les Miserables” opened in movie theaters nationwide on Christmas Day. The highly anticipated film was said to be one of the biggest movies of the 2012, and it didn’t disappoint by any means. “ Les Miserables” made $30 million in just two days. This may be because of the major star power attached to the film. Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Aaron Tveit, Helena Bonham Carter, Sascha Baren Cohen, Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks star in this movie. “ Les Miserables” was nominated for several Golden Globes, including best picture, best costume design, best makeup/hairstyling, best original song, best production design, and best song mixing. Anne Hathaway was nominated for best actress and Hugh Jackman for best actor. Originally debuting in 1980 in France, “ Les Miserables,” based on the Victor Hugo novel, was instantly a huge hit. The first 100 performances were seen by more than 500,000 people. The musical took a brief hiatus and returned to the stage in 1985 in London, starring Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean and Patti LuPone as Fantine. “ Les Miserables” takes place during French Revolution and centers on a man named Jean Valjean. Valjean has just been released from prison after serving 19 years and can’t find any work or a place to stay because he is considered a felon by the law. The film sticks to the plot of the stage musical, but also adds many new elements. One is that the actors in the film actually had to sing live every take, something highly unusual for a musical movie, but this gives the movie a fresh, authentic feel. Sacred Heart senior Elise Martino enjoyed the film: “I thought the movie overall was great — well put together and a lot of great emotion.” Although she enjoyed the film, Martino says she will always prefer the stage version to the movie, even though the movie did a decent job conveying the message. “I like it better as a Broadway show, but still liked the movie. I will always prefer stage to screen, but the producers pulled it off pretty well. The scenery was great,” Martino said. Trinity senior Michael Shunnarah is also a fan of the film. He said, “I thought the movie was great. It was exciting, emotional, and full of talented actors and actresses. I think the producers did an amazing job with the movie because it related very well to the Broadway show, and it had all of the key parts.” Shunnarah said his favorite performance in the movie was by Hathaway, whom he said really portrayed her character’s emotion. YPAS senior Tyler Johnson-Campion, however, did not like the film. Johnson-Campion said while the director did a good job of capturing the vision, the casting choices were a mistake, and the movie needed real Broadway stars. Johnson-Campion said, “I think the story was conveyed well, and the producers did a good job at getting the story across, but I don’t think they chose the right actors for all the parts. I think that singing for this particular musical was the most important factor, and it seemed like the singing was second or third priority.” Tyler also thinks that since Broadway actors regularly do shows eight times a week, singing live each take would have been an easier process. College student Kevin Renn gives the producers credit for trying, saying the film had its moments, but the most unbearable part was Javert, played by Crowe. He said, “Two words — Russell Crowe. Those, by the way, were not good words. I was really nervous when I heard Russell Crowe was going to be playing Javert, this being because it is probably really out of his comfort zone. I give him props for trying, but it was just a swing and a miss for him in my book.There were times when I was ‘Miserables’ myself just watching him. If it were my choice, I would have put Gerard Butler in the role of Javert.”