This movie is a time-bending psychological thriller that plays out more like modern Shakespeare than any of its contemporaries. It blends mystery, romance, and thriller in a nice overall package, but is too strange to have the staying power it could have. The film goes in more for character drama than rational explanation by the end, which is fun but nothing more.
Closest comparison: It’s like Wuthering Heights by way of Wolf (1994).
Setting: Drama
Plot: Sci-Fi
Tone: Mystery
This movie is a mostly straightforward adaptation of the Agatha Christie murder mystery, with a few notable facets. Firstly, it has an order of magnitude better production value than the BBC Poirot series, although Kenneth Branagh pales in comparison to David Suchet. Secondly, the film injects an absurd amount of over-the-top sexuality in a few places, as well as a heavy application of obnoxious, senseless woke-isms across the side characters like sprinkling arsenic on tiramisu.
Closest comparison: It’s like Murder on the Orient Express (2017) with a bunch of nonsense shoehorned in.
Setting: Adventure
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Mystery
This is the definitive version of Shakespeare’s play, brought to life by the inimitable Kenneth Branagh. If you already like The Bard you’ll love it, but even those unfamiliar with his works may find themselves enjoying the antiquated dialogue and some historical aspects of the plot. Then ending, though, features an abrupt change of tone which is a strange directoral choice.
Closest comparison: It’s Shakespeare by Kenneth Branagh. What more do you want?
Setting: War
Plot: Political
Tone: Stage Play
This movie is bonkers. It’s very good, but it has its flaws as well. Some of the dialog is difficult to understand and the film moves at a breakneck pace which leaves the audience and characters trying to keep up. Mostly you’re just going to have to accept what you’re seeing and analyze it on a second viewing, but surprisingly the movie doesn’t suffer for that and instead uses it to its advantage. If you’re willing to go along for the ride, it’s a fantastic film, and pairs with Memento as Nolan’s most daring and avant-garde films. This movie is intense and may be hard to wrap your mind around at first.
Closest comparison: It’s like Memento by way of Inception, wrapped in a cold war thriller.
Setting: Cold War Thriller / Romantic Drama / Sci-Fi War
Plot: Heist / Sci-Fi Action / Romantic Thriller
Tone: Pop Action / Slick Thriller / Romantic Tragedy
Nothing about this movie makes sense. Multiple times it goes out of its way to make sure the audience understands something, then has the opposite happen as if it were a payoff. The acting is very bad, with the notable exceptions of Josh Gad and Colin Farrell who are doing the best they can with what they’re given. The only consistently good thing about the movie is the set design, which is ruined by terribly choppy editing. There’s nothing to like about this movie, whether you’re a fan of the book series or not.
Closest comparison: It’s like Spy Kids by way of The Last Airbender (2010).
Setting: Hidden World
Plot: Ransom
Tone: Kids Adventure
This is Marvel’s first attempt at mashing up two different genres, and all things considered it works really well. The action is quite good, the story is solid, and the CGI is fine, kept in dark environments as needed. The Shakespearean dialogue is essential to the core of the Asgardian characters, evoking the sense of royalty with ease and meshing perfectly with the ‘royal drama’ nature of the plot. And no review would be complete without mentioning the Dutch Angles that are just everywhere in this movie, but only work well about half of the time.
Closest comparison: It’s the bisection of the line between He-Man and K-Pax, but with much better production values.
Setting: Fantasy
Plot: Super hero
Tone: Action Comedy
It's good. It's fine. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's honestly pretty bland. For all the acting and directing talent available it is not very impressive, except for a few pretty great 'oners' if you're looking for them. If you're familiar with the story this movie holds no surprises for you. If not, it's a classic and this is a solid adaptation.
This movie is awesome to watch. Not 'fun' like a lot of other war movies try to be, but the experience is intense and I can't think of anything they should have done differently. There are very loud parts in this movie (and rightly so), but if you're sensitive to loud noises wait til it comes out on DVD. The cinematography is beautiful and the storytelling is fascinating. Also don't go if you have a weak heart; this movie is tense for most of its runtime.
Edit: On a second viewing there is a lot more to catch. I didn't realize quite so many of the secenes are played back later from a different perspective, and many of the earlier scenes take on a new meaning when you watch them knowing what's going on elsewhere/elsewhen. Still a great film, and I stand by my 5/5 rating.
