This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
I know I just said it in the review Vol. 1 last week, but I take it back, this one is definitely better. I still think the first is great, but the character work here is so far better and outweighs the decrease in flair.
But if I had Pai Mei’s beard, I’d be stroking it the same way all the time, rest in peace king.
“How do I look?”
“You look ready.”
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Incel George MacKay was such a curveball after the first half of this that I had to laugh.
Throughout almost all of this, I was continuously thinking of how blown away I was in every aspect, this felt like top tier filmmaking firing on all cylinders. The sets and costumes, editing, cinematography, MacKay and Seydoux’s performances, score, and direction were all at their most effective here. And the melding of genres to tell this very complex story worked immensely well,…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Had high expectations that weren’t totally met, just didn’t connect as much as I thought I would, but still thoroughly enjoyed and respected it for sure. No surprise that Scorsese directed well, Schrader wrote well, and De Niro acted well, especially in that jail scene, which was by far my favorite scene. Watching him finally deal with a problem he couldn’t punch away felt very complete.
And some gorgeous visuals, my favorites being the shots of Sugar Ray and Jake in the fight he lost, as well as the blood on the ropes.
All around heartfelt and charming, especially in its performances, soundtrack, and writing, except that one TERRIBLY awkward scene that I barely made it through.
Seriously though, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, J.K. Simmons, Jason Bateman, and Elliot Page all give their all to these realistic characters, and it made me think, even got me a bit emotional.
And while a small portion of the humor was either very dated or written by someone older than the character saying it, the rest was great, laughed out loud a couple times.
