The singing and dancing in this Chicago are uniformly splendid, right down to Gere's tap dancing. The high wit and dark eroticism Marshall brings to the famous "Cell Block Tango" number are matchless.

With its eye-popping color, bold personality and snazzy tunes, Chicago is a breathtaking experience.

Chicago is the zingiest, most inventive movie of its kind since "Cabaret."

Isn't just the most explosively entertaining movie musical in a couple of decades. It's going to be the most influential: the one that inspires the rebirth of the Hollywood musical.

A superior adaptation that bypasses the Ann Reinking version now on Broadway.

Chicago, based on Bob Fosse's Broadway smash, kills.

Sophisticated, brash, sardonic, completely joyful in its execution. It gives anyone who ever loved movie musicals, and lamented their demise, something to live for.

Not since the 1972 'Cabaret' has there been a movie musical this stirring, intelligent and exciting.

The movie is a total blast, and what a surprise.

More than any other example in recent memory, Chicago shows how much the element of surprise is missing from today's movies.

The usually quiet Zellweger is the revelation: Like her character, the actress seems happily amazed to find herself crossing a polished dance floor, sheathed in silk and diamonds, having the naughty, self-glorifying time of her life.

At times, Chicago has the feel of a revue, with the major characters taking turns at their own show-stopping numbers. If it's too much of a good thing, I say, bring it on.

A funny, rousing crowd-pleaser.

Freshly transplanted from the stage, is a thrilling ode to the intertwined glories of sex, showmanship, and lying: what the film calls ''the old razzle-dazzle.''