Bad Times at the El Royale
The notion that Bad Times at the El Royale is simply a cheap <PERSON> knockoff undersells the film and suggests that <PERSON> doesn't himself take from a myriad of influences not so subtlely layered all over his own work (even cannibalizing himself if you will in his more recent features) but I digress.
Here the multi-POV structure I argue hurts the film more than it benefits. While it does lend itself to some interesting twists and suspense the threads don't really amount to any cohesive momentum, particularly in the first two acts that drag. The characters don't intersect enough to build a meaningful relationship even by proxy to one another and the sleight of hand featured in similarly structured films is nonexistent; it is a pure straight shooter that fails to engage consistently for its lengthy runtime. There's no real reason to care for any of these characters, their backstories told through multiple flashbacks provide context and broad motivations but don't really establish characters with much memorable personality. 952
The last act is the best portion of the film but it could just as easily function independently as its own entity. There's a lot of fluff in the runtime that could've been better utilized or cut completely to no real loss to the final product.
I do however appreciate how this mirrors a specific aesthetic reminiscent of 80s/ 90s pulp thrillers. God knows we need more variety at the cinema and I enjoyed the flair <PERSON> flaunts throughout capitalizing on a strong ensemble of performances and some interesting cinematography choices.
Stray Observations
- <PERSON> is more interesting as a villain than he is as a hero. Obviously, he has charisma for days but its more interesting (and he seems more invested) when he gets to manipulate that for other means
- <PERSON> / <PERSON> don't get enough to do here.
- <PERSON> and <PERSON> steal the movie though 796