Hotel Artemis Movie Review

Hotel Artemis (2018)

Watch the trailer
Written by: Drew Pearce
Directed by: Drew Pearce
Starring: Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Dave Bautista, Jeff Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto, Charlie Day
Rated: R

Plot
Set in a riot-torn, near-future Los Angeles, "the Nurse" runs a secret, members-only emergency room for criminals.

Verdict
This is a fun ride with great world building and engaging characters. The casting is spot on for every role. It's a great premise with a few missed opportunities. This could have been really intense, but this sets a stage and just leaves it. I wish the conclusion had a little more impact. It seems like the conclusion was an afterthought. I like what this was trying to do, but it relies a bit too heavily on the premise.
Watch it.

Review
Drew Pearce, best known for writing Iron Man 3, in his directing debut builds this near future world in the midst of a riot. It's a lot of fun and felt quick with a lively pace and a fair number of characters. The casting is perfect and everyone puts in a great performance.
It reminded me of John Wick (read my review) with the world building. In John Wick there are hotels for assassins which reinforce rules of no business on the property. This felt like an offshoot.

The Hotel Artemis is an exclusive membership for criminals where you can get medical attention as long as there is a vacancy.
Jodie Foster plays the nurse, who enforces the rules while administering medical attention. It's a crazy night at the Artemis as riots tear through L.A., generating a few customers. It just so happens that half of the characters have a link or at least a past. On this night, some of the rules are about to get broken. Some by the clientele, some by the nurse.

Brian Tyree Henry and Sterling K. Brown.

Sterling K. Brown does a great job as Sherman, a bank robber who brings his brother in after a robbery takes a turn. He's' the bank robber with a plan, and the rest of his gang follow his lead when they run into difficulty. I liked the character and actor.
All of the characters are great, cast just right, and played perfectly. Each has some kind of development.
There's tension nearly from the start as the Artemis is housing dangerous criminals. You know things are going to jump off at some point.
Sofia Boutella is an assassin, though she seemed just a bit of a cliche. Charlie Day plays an arms dealer, but he exists just to get kicked around. The Wolf King who owns L.A. and the Artemis, pays a visit which is the central plot point.
I wanted more from that character. He had a big build up that didn't quite pay off. Sherman is scared of the Wolf King and with good reason, but that reason is never fully justified. The Wolf King is ruthless, and if he was going after Sherman it would have reinforced that better. The Wolf King's son feels like a missed opportunity. He's set up as a disappointment to his father with something to prove, but that stalls.
For an action movie I was surprised at the lack of fights. We get one and a half battles, but I expected more.

Jodie Foster as the Nurse.

Jodie Foster is impressive, playing a mid-seventies woman who hates to leave the confines of the hotel and strictly adheres to the rules. You get the sense that she's seen enough in life that she's not worried about her clientele. She relies on the rules to keep things in check.

While the movie doesn't delve into specific explanations about the hotel or the rules, we get enough through dialog. There is a membership fee and while it's mentioned Sherman got out of the life for a while, he kept paying his membership dues.

Jeff Goldblum is The Wolf King.

This movie is a lot of fun and a big part of that is the writing. We get great characters and world building. L.A. is in shambles due to a water shortage.
My only problem with the movie are some of the underwhelming plot points. The Wolf King was set up to drive the plot, but he didn't push it very far. I expected more from a number of characters and when this ends I was left thinking, "That's it?" It ends abruptly, and what we get just doesn't have any impact. It almost feels tailor made to leave room for a sequel. That or they couldn't come up with a good ending so they just made it a quick conclusion.