It was all supposed to be the film event of the year, fledgling as 2013 may be. Baz Lurhmann’s interpretation of ‘the great American novel’ had it all, or at least we thought it would.

Watch the Great Gatsby trailer here

With such negative reviews – the film managed 48% on Rotten Tomatoes – it begs the question: what exactly went wrong with The Great Gatsby? It certainly wasn’t the cast. Leonardo Dicaprio, Toby Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher made for smooth reading when the staff-lists were announced. Perhaps it was the soundtrack? Wrong again. Even though Jay-Z provided a modern twist on this classic story, that’s not what the critics are moaning about. No, it was the overblown style Lurhmann attached to such films as Moulin Rouge that put everyone off. “Baz Luhrmann is exactly the wrong person to adapt such a delicately rendered story, and his 3D feature plays like a ghastly Roaring 20s blowout at a sorority house,” say The Chicago Reader, emphasizing the disappointment felt about the film’s general vibe. This dreadful film even derogates the artistry of Fitzgerald, who wrote "The Great Gatsby" while living on Long Island and in Europe,” say the Wall Street Journal.

Leonardo DiCaprioLeo's looking smooth at the premiere of The Great Gatsby

In truth, fans of the novel – and there are plenty of them – will be going to see the film regardless of what the critics are saying. It’s a shame, though, that such a classic story is yet to be appreciated properly on the big screen.