Watch the trailer
Written by: David Koepp (screenplay by)
Directed by: Romain Gavras
Starring: Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Vincent Cassel, Sam Richardson, John Malkovich, Salma Hayek, Ambika Mod
Rated: R
Plot
At an elite fundraising gala, celebrities and socialites find themselves in danger when armed activists storm the venue, claiming a sacrifice will save the world.
Verdict
This wants to explore the artifice of celebrities that claim to care for causes like climate change when it's really a venue for them to market and throw parties for themselves. The movie attempts to dissect that through a terrorist group with radical beliefs. Unfortunately this doesn't build on the idea. There's a giant gap between what this wants to do and actually does.. This has a premise, but it lacks a sufficient script. The movie could have built upon the comedy of Mike Tyler trying to reclaim his career by misguidedly leveraging this group, but the second half is just filling time before we get an underwhelming conclusion.
Skip it.
Review
A cryptic opening with a funeral pyre and prophecies of kings and slayings generates several questions. Then we get a bunch of celebrities at a climate change gala in Greece. The "art" installations are vapid, and that's the point. This is all for show. Actor Mike Tyler (Chris Evans) attends, his first appearance after a very public meltdown. Ben Bracken (Vincent Cassel), the tech mogul hosting the event, is jealous that his wife Gloria (Salma Hayek) is a fan of Mike's. He doesn't miss a chance to put Mike down. It doesn't help that Mike hijacks the microphone, deciding to make an ill conceived statement.
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| Chris Evans, Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel play Mike Tyler, Gloria Bracken, Ben Bracken |
Joan's (Anya Taylor-Joy) group infiltrates this party, believing that a sacrifice is required to save the world. She got instruction from a volcano which forces us to question the legitimacy of her beliefs. They take the party hostage while Mike is in the bathroom. He walks right into the middle of this, unaware of what he's gotten himself into.
Mike called out the performative nature of this party in his earlier speech, but that's only because he wants a viral moment to boost his career. He doesn't believe in what he's saying. Does Joan's fringe group believe in these end of the world prophecies or is this a stunt for attention? Their claims of sacrifice to save the world are dubious at best.
Even near the beginning, I wondered where this was going. As ridiculous as this movie is, I thought this cult could somehow be right. If so, how will this movie prove that? The first half of the movie explores the artifices of celebrity and philanthropy. The second half treads water. The cult selects Ben, Mike, and the performer Daughter Nature (Ambika Mod) as sacrifices. The preparation involves a lengthy drug induced trip. I wondered if this sequence mattered and whether the movie even has a point. This introduces all of these ideas, but it just doesn't land them. It seems like we're filling time. This wants to explore climate change, but the second half is boring. Mike finally has to take a stand for his beliefs, the ones he's recently developed. It seems crazy, and taking a stand often does.
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| Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy play Mike Tyler, Joan |
This just doesn't build moments. This has all of these ideas that don't come together. Ben isn't even a complete character. He fills space, bad because he's rich. Mike is the most developed character, struggling with who he wants to be and is. His conclusion is finally taking a stand, but by that point in the movie I just wanted it to be over. This could leverage the comedy of all of these people playing a part to impress others. While seeds are there, it ends up being a collection of ideas without a unifying story. Mike using this fundamentalist group to his own ends as a misguided means to boost his career could have provided so much more entertainment.
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| Title Card |
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