Jonathan Larson, the original author, lyricist and composer, died on the eve of the stage musical's previews. One would like to think he would have changed a lot for the film.
Columbus has, but in the wrong way as he translates an intimate piece of theatre about poverty, passion and disease in New York's East Village into a screen spectacle that only cheapens it.
Still, there's a good Mimi in Rosario Dawson, who breathes her last effectively and sings her set-piece numbers well.
And the rest of the cast, including Taye Diggs and Jesse L Martin from the original show, alongside relative newcomer Tracie Thoms, have their moments.
But the lyrics often seem risible now and the music is nothing like as good as that of Chicago or West Side Story. It took 10 years to reach the screen, and unfortunately it shows.
