I love Shakespeare’s work. Who doesn’t? His use of the English language remains unparalleled so many centuries later and his stories continue to stir the imagination to this day. The tragic King Lear, the corrupt Macbeth, the mad Hamlet and even those young fools Romeo and Juliet are all dear to me, though I much prefer the Bard’s more comedic work. I still have fond memories of working backstage, making fairies fly in a high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I still love the characters of that play — especially the merry Puck — and all of their various comical misunderstandings. Likewise, I have a great soft spot for The Tempest.

By its very nature, The Tempest is visually extraordinary, demanding spectacular acts of magic and wonderfully colorful costumes. There’s also a huge spectrum of roles to play, from the comedic Stephano and Trinculo to the conniving Antonio and Sebastian. In between, there’s the proud and downtrodden Caliban along with the airy prankster Ariel, not to mention that ever-shifting triangle of Prospero, Miranda and Ferdinand. The Tempest is a revenge tale as acted out by comedic characters. It ultimately becomes a story of forgiveness and sacrifice with a wonderful blend of drama and comedy unique to Shakespeare’s collected work.

Which brings me to The Tempest, a cinematic adaptation of the play as directed by Julie Taymor. Take a look at the trailer.

First and foremost: Look at that cast! Seriously, just look at it.

Helen Mirren is clearly bringing her A-game to this and that’s saying a lot. In this trailer, I see the fierce intelligence, commanding presence and veiled weariness that the role of Prospera hinges on and I’ll be damned if she doesn’t deliver Shakespeare’s dialogue like the pro she is. Swapping Prospero’s gender is an unorthodox move, but it’s one I’ve seen before. It adds a uniquely powerful female role to the play (quite possibly the most powerful female character in all of Shakespeare’s plays) and adds a new dimension to the power struggle between Prospera and Antonio. I can’t wait to see what Taymor and Mirren do with it.

Alfred Molina is a wonderful actor and I’m greatly anxious to see him take on the Bard’s work. Casting him in a purely comedic role was a stroke of genius, doubly so for the inspired move of casting Russell Brand as the jester Trinculo. As for Caliban, I have complete respect for Djimon Hounsou and the earthly, vengeful aspects of Caliban are coming through loud and clear. However, his comedic chops are unproven so far as I know, and he’s going to need them if he’s going to keep up with Molina and Brand.

Chris Cooper can do villainous without a problem and Alan Cumming can deliver a mix of comedy and villainy that perfectly suits the material. The only real question marks that I can see are with Miranda and Ferdinand. The two of them are oddly absent from the trailer and given their central role in the story, that raises my eyebrow a bit. We only see a bit of them, and I’ve gotta say that I wasn’t impressed with the line delivery. What’s more, their IMDB pages both yield absolutely nothing noteworthy. I just need more.

I also need to see more of Ariel, but that goes without saying as he’s my favorite character in the play. Still, I see that Taymor is portraying him as more of a CG effect and that’s as it should be. I especially like the contrast of the shiny, fluid, ethereal Ariel against the rough, gritty, earthy look of Caliban. That’s basically the essence of the two characters and I’m glad to see that Taymor is playing it to the hilt.

Of course, Taymor has been known to make visually staggering productions even at the worst of times (*coughAcrosstheUniversecough*). In this case, it looks like Taymor won’t disappoint. The CGI looks like it could use a bit more polish, but I generally like how the magic looks and the costumes are suitably wonderful. What’s more, the island looks very diverse in its ecosystem (well, it is a magic island) and it looks wonderfully shot.

The Tempest will be released in theaters on December 10th. This looks to me like one to watch.