This is a tough one to rate so I won’t.
The music was always going to be great, but I’m a little confused by some of the casting decisions. You’d also think a movie would flesh out the world a little more than the play given Act I was 2.5 hours…
Idk - musical movies are tough to rate because the content is already there. I appreciate that they were pretty true to the play but they could have done…
A very overwhelmingly Wes Anderson film. While I enjoyed the first and third main stories, the obscurity of the film became grating over time. I also don’t think the black-and-white cinematography enhanced the movie at all; what would’ve been distractingly dazzling scenes (which admittedly isn’t for everyone) turned into humdrum sets and dull quirkiness. And while the rare bursts of color did add some much needed contrast to the film, it felt like Wes overcorrected for his typical overly-colorful pallet. There must exist a visually pleasant middle ground, but this wasn’t it.
“Based on a true story.” LOL.
Absolutely ridiculous film, but exactly what you’d expect. Fun action scenes, mediocre drama, and ridiculously evil bad guys. Always happy to watch Donnie Yen beat up henchmen though; even at his age he can take some metal pipes to the ribs and come out on top.
If you like Chinese martial arts movies, you’d probably enjoy this (though its nothing compared to Ip Man). It was also interesting to see how the Hong Kong legal system works as a SAR (powdered wigs and all), but I’m guessing its not the most accurate portrayal…
