Ralph Fiennes spits out some of Shakespeare's toughest dialogue with brute force, in this modern-dress adaptation that also marks his directorial debut.

Fiennes plays Caius Martius Coriolanus, a Roman general returning from battle to the public's cheers — but then rejected in peacetime by that mob, goaded by opportunistic politicians and his scheming mother, Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave, who spins an icy elegance into every line). Coriolanus, exiled, throws his support to his sworn enemy, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler).

Fiennes, working off a terse script by John Logan ("Hugo"), brings out Shakespeare's timeless messages about the dangers of military rule and mob rule, as the haughty Coriolanus is pitted against a mob that falls somewhere between an Occupy protest and a bunch of soccer hooligans.

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'Coriolanus'

Opens Friday, April 27, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas; rated R for some bloody violence; 122 minutes. For more movie reviews, visit nowsaltlake.com/movies.