It didn't all work, but I enjoyed it and very happy this movie exists.
Loved the opening few sequences--really vibrant and effective character work. The comedy is slapstick, but still well-considered--from the jokes to the casting choices--it was super entertaining, particularly during the first half. The second half is a bit all over the place and not as funny, but some of the film's themes around friendship, love and resilience in the Black community did cohere and resonate with me.…
Tempered my expectations significantly given some of the scuttlebut and suspicious release date, but still left feeling disappointed.
The film looks very good: it's well-lit and the production-design is excellent--the world they created feels real. I also enjoyed the tone early on. Whatever it was doing--a mixture of wry and quirky, with varying degrees of screwball--felt surehanded. Ruffalo is hilarious and the best part of the movie--the line-readings didn't always land, but I enjoyed him.
Thematically, it's cut from the…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Don't think this film will be very rewatchable, which is unfortunate because I do think it warrants multiple viewings. I don't have much fealty to the "theatrical experience", but am really happy I saw this in a theater. The experience also had me reflecting on whether it's possible for me to compare movies like this to others on a level playing field. And by "movies like this", I mean movies where the discourse around it sets my expectations so high…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Headline Prediction: 10 years from now, this film will be re-evaluated in the critical community as a masterpiece. Ok, maybe not a masterpiece.. but definitely a cult classic. I thought the movie was quite good, and view some of the derisive criticism I've read (see the great Wesley Morris' NYT review) as misguided.
The notion that the movie is more focused on stunts and flare than real character development and emotional beats is overblown in my opinion. In addition to…
