BAD TIMES AT EL ROYALE 2018
by
DREW GODDARD
There is a Tarantino in every neo-noir filmmaker .Drew Goddard has
him in the right measure.The hotel, El Royale is sufficiently spooky, or maybe more
so than required.The characters,including John Hamm,Jeff Bridges,Dakota Johnson
and others are intriguing enough.There is hidden loot of the past ,guns
shooting off like cannons and smell of napalm.
An ex-con masquerading as a priest,a female Afro singer,an FBI
agent and a hottie check into a hotel which has
snooping glasses and a nosy manager.Arriveth a Chinaman and his gang, and ensue
shootouts which causes a lot of bloodshed.
Jeff Bridges has done his job ,and so has John Hamm.But somehow
the film doesn’t take off.The premise is good,and characters are well
defined,but not so the climax.The film doesn’t head anywhere after first
hour,but the director keeps the reel running for 90 more minutes.
The film proves the maxim that no cast,and no styling can take a
film anywhere unless it is backed by a solid story.
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