ryan-clements-1
Joined Apr 2007
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ryan-clements-1's rating
Turns out it was the latter...
Yep, it was quite a stinker. It's basically just a romcom... without the com. Not through lack of trying mind you. It tries so hard to be fun and funny, but outside of a couple of sporadic smiles and the occasional light-hearted 'hmph', it just fell completely flat for me.
The characters are so sickly sweet and the romance aspect just isn't engaging at all... and that's all you get for the first half of the film. It's well over an hour before the first taste of intrigue enters the picture, and even that sub-story feels predictable and undercooked.
This is likely due to the clichéd and contrived screenplay. Writer Drew Pierce (from whom I've enjoyed Mission Impossible Rogue Nation and Hotel Artemis) clearly loves movies and really wants you to know it, trying to take a meta approach and I do like the fact he shines a light on the stunt profession and BTS crew... but it all just feels superficial and shallow. He also loves to name-drop other (better) movies which came across a bit pretentious, and there's even an ongoing gag where one character tests Ryan Gosling's character by working in famous lines from other movies. This could have been fun if they weren't so obvious and overall seemed like a wasted gimmick. This is indicative of how the film plays out as a whole. There also a gimmick using the movie they're making as allegory for their relationship that is excruciating to endure, and the movie itself looks so incredibly trashy that it makes you want to root for its demise. I think it was trying to be satirical, but if so it wasn't carried through to the rest of the picture and just felt out of place.
I think it's wildly misdirected by David Leitch, who I typically enjoy, but here he just doesn't succeed in balancing the romance, comedy and action, and the resultant movie has a very weird tone throughout. There are some brief flashes of ok action, but usually felt sluggish and oftentimes a bit cartoony.
Overall, there I have very little praise for this movie and consider it a huge misfire, blurring the line between bad and just downright awful.
Note: the above review is my personal opinion and is not intended to be reflective or better than your own. For what its worth, I certainly seem to be in the minority on this one.
Yep, it was quite a stinker. It's basically just a romcom... without the com. Not through lack of trying mind you. It tries so hard to be fun and funny, but outside of a couple of sporadic smiles and the occasional light-hearted 'hmph', it just fell completely flat for me.
The characters are so sickly sweet and the romance aspect just isn't engaging at all... and that's all you get for the first half of the film. It's well over an hour before the first taste of intrigue enters the picture, and even that sub-story feels predictable and undercooked.
This is likely due to the clichéd and contrived screenplay. Writer Drew Pierce (from whom I've enjoyed Mission Impossible Rogue Nation and Hotel Artemis) clearly loves movies and really wants you to know it, trying to take a meta approach and I do like the fact he shines a light on the stunt profession and BTS crew... but it all just feels superficial and shallow. He also loves to name-drop other (better) movies which came across a bit pretentious, and there's even an ongoing gag where one character tests Ryan Gosling's character by working in famous lines from other movies. This could have been fun if they weren't so obvious and overall seemed like a wasted gimmick. This is indicative of how the film plays out as a whole. There also a gimmick using the movie they're making as allegory for their relationship that is excruciating to endure, and the movie itself looks so incredibly trashy that it makes you want to root for its demise. I think it was trying to be satirical, but if so it wasn't carried through to the rest of the picture and just felt out of place.
I think it's wildly misdirected by David Leitch, who I typically enjoy, but here he just doesn't succeed in balancing the romance, comedy and action, and the resultant movie has a very weird tone throughout. There are some brief flashes of ok action, but usually felt sluggish and oftentimes a bit cartoony.
Overall, there I have very little praise for this movie and consider it a huge misfire, blurring the line between bad and just downright awful.
Note: the above review is my personal opinion and is not intended to be reflective or better than your own. For what its worth, I certainly seem to be in the minority on this one.
So just got back from seeing Tenet and thought I'd lay down some thoughts. Fear not, as I promise you this will soil nothing of the plot. Quite frankly, I wouldn't even know where to begin, since this is one film that is a bona fide assault on the mind.
For those planning (or able) to see it soon, all I can say is bring your A-game, as this film is hard work. The plot is extremely convoluted, focused around a Nolanised concept called 'time inversion' (which is briefly and, dare I say, ineffectively explained at the beginning), told via an onslaught of rapid-fire dialogue and exposition for nearly all of it's 150-minute runtime. It makes Inception seem like Sesame Street by comparison, and it strongly reminded me of Primer, which I always considered one of the most difficult films to follow... until now.
The pacing is relentless, rarely slowing down enough for the audience to digest the cavalcade of information thrown at them. Adding to the confusion is the sound mix, which often makes dialogue very difficult to hear and ultimately obscures vital information for the audience.
By the end of the film, I was left with an idea of the overall plot, but feel it's going to take many revisits to fully understand the details, which are kinda crucial in really understanding what's going on. I trust Nolan has a firm grasp on the logistics of his story, but without an all access pass to the depths of his imagination, it's a hard task to firm grasp on the concept.
I can't even really rate this movie (the review rating is more if a rating-in-progress)... I know somewhere in the future I adore this film, but for now I'm as lost as the protagonist was for at least the first hour.
For those planning (or able) to see it soon, all I can say is bring your A-game, as this film is hard work. The plot is extremely convoluted, focused around a Nolanised concept called 'time inversion' (which is briefly and, dare I say, ineffectively explained at the beginning), told via an onslaught of rapid-fire dialogue and exposition for nearly all of it's 150-minute runtime. It makes Inception seem like Sesame Street by comparison, and it strongly reminded me of Primer, which I always considered one of the most difficult films to follow... until now.
The pacing is relentless, rarely slowing down enough for the audience to digest the cavalcade of information thrown at them. Adding to the confusion is the sound mix, which often makes dialogue very difficult to hear and ultimately obscures vital information for the audience.
By the end of the film, I was left with an idea of the overall plot, but feel it's going to take many revisits to fully understand the details, which are kinda crucial in really understanding what's going on. I trust Nolan has a firm grasp on the logistics of his story, but without an all access pass to the depths of his imagination, it's a hard task to firm grasp on the concept.
I can't even really rate this movie (the review rating is more if a rating-in-progress)... I know somewhere in the future I adore this film, but for now I'm as lost as the protagonist was for at least the first hour.
It's an interesting little revenge flick that gets pretty brutal, and features a mesmerising performance by Riccardo De Filippis, who nails the transition from meek and mild to all out psycho.
The film could be better. There's some questionable shots and dialogue, and it feels low budget overall. And the gore is a bit shlocky which kills the reality somewhat, but at the same time it took me back to the early Savini days which I did appreciate.
But the best part, for me, was the score by Maurizio Abeni, which was outstanding... featuring a memorable melodic primary theme that's twisted in wonderful ways, and some great underscore that stands out like it should.
The film could be better. There's some questionable shots and dialogue, and it feels low budget overall. And the gore is a bit shlocky which kills the reality somewhat, but at the same time it took me back to the early Savini days which I did appreciate.
But the best part, for me, was the score by Maurizio Abeni, which was outstanding... featuring a memorable melodic primary theme that's twisted in wonderful ways, and some great underscore that stands out like it should.