This movie is more of a comedy that its predecessor, though it still has plenty of fun action as well. It’s a bit of a cash grab, trying to recreate the success of the first one with no better ideas than “what if it were in a different city?” But Kurt Russell and John Carpenter are so good at their jobs that the end result is engaging and enjoyable right to the end.
Closest comparison: It’s like Escape from New York by way of Die Another Day.
Setting: Action
Plot: Suicide Mission
Tone: Action
This is the kind of movie that you have to pay close attention to, because if you miss a line you very well may be lost for the rest of the run time. But because of the intricate nature of the backstabbing mafia plot the dialogue makes the audience pay just as close attention as the characters, constantly wondering what is doublespeak, and where each person’s loyalties truly lie. Most movies and shows try to accomplish this with invented drama but here it’s all mechanical, reliant on tangible necessities not fabricated strife. The Coen Brothers are in top form here, with dialogue so rich they had to tone it down in future movies to appeal to a wider audience.
Closest comparison: It’s like The Godfather that’s not trying to win an Oscar, with two mobs for the price of one.
Setting: Gangster
Plot: Thriller
Tone: Drama
This is a weird, slow movie that suffers from bland ad-lib dialogue. The first half is great: methodical setup, dry humor with measured delivery, and several interesting plot threads to investigate. Unfortunately, some of the plot threads go nowhere and the ones that do end not just strangely but often unsatisfactorily. Still, it kept me interested and chuckling for most of the runtime and although not all of the humor lands, much of it does for the zombie-movie-loving crowd.
Content warning: Gore
Closest comparison: This is a slow, strange homage to older B horror films like Night of the Living Dead and Plan 9 From Outer Space.
Setting: Zombies
Plot: Action Adventure
Tone: Dry Comedy
Even though this quickly became a cult classic, it’s too weird and rambling to be truly great. Of course, there are some truly great moments and infinitely quotable dialogue, but then there are all the parts people forget about. It’s certainly worth a watch if you haven’t seen it, just for the cultural touchpoint, but it doesn’t even really have a point beyond ‘look at all the crazy stuff that’s happening’. This is what happens when ‘quirky’ goes too far and doesn’t have substance to back it up.
Closest Comparison: It’s like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by way of Fargo.
Setting: Modern
Plot: Thriller
Tone: Comedy
