Review by
Musanna Ahmed
Directed by: Drew Pearce
Starring: Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff
Goldblum, Brian Tyree Henry, Jenny Slate, Zachary Quinto, Charlie Day, Dave
Bautista
Welcome to the Hotel Artemis, a members-only secret lair for criminals in a
pickle during a tumultuous period of future Los Angeles, torn apart by
riots. The criminals are given respite in a safe space where the rules are
no guns, no cops and no killing other patients. Quite obviously, the
narrative of Hotel Artemis descends into one where the
characters break those rules. The double crossings and bizarre tactics of
the kooky characters may have been easily predictable if it all wasn't such
a mess to follow.
Drew Pearce, the writer/director, has crafted a crazy universe with
several terrific actors who all bring various pleasures to the ensemble.
It’s a pleasure in itself to see Sterling K. Brown in his first
leading role in a film. He brings the goods as Sherman, a smart thief who
quickly robs a bank with a few fellows (one of whom is played by
Atlanta favourite Brian Tyree Henry) and bounces out
straight to the Hotel where he’s admitted by Jean Thomas aka the Nurse, the
fearless but agoraphobic healer and leader embodied by the legendary
Jodie Foster, perfectly cast as the conflicted character.
Another scene-stealer is Dave Bautista, who, with each film,
threatens to steal the thunder of Dwayne Johnson and John Cena as the WWE
star with the most talent as a professional actor, or at least the one
carving a Hollywood career with the most interesting choices (even if they
aren’t all
Blade Runner 2049). Charlie Day shows range as Acapulco, a criminal with a mind full
of all the “isms” and an unfiltered mouth to spout them, a role so
diabolical to the point where he’s unrecognisable as the naturally likeable
actor we all know. Sofia Boutella continues her hot streak of kicking
ass, and rounding up the cast are a game Zachary Quinto,
Jenny Slate and Jeff Goldblum, all of them holding their own
opposite the icon of cinema that is Foster.
Like many depictions of the future, the characters go by unusual names -
The Wolf King, Honolulu, Nice, P-22 - except in this case those are all code
names based on the suite of the hotel they occupy. Also, like in many
depictions of the future, graffiti looks to be the primary form of protest.
Pearce doesn’t add anything new in his vision of American dystopia except
that ordinary pistols look like present-day flare guns. The future has
seldom played out so confusingly, though. The nonsensical plot is hard to
follow, tracking several characters and each of their stories, then tracking
them navigating their present-day circumstances, and their ever-changing
relationships with each other, making it almost impossible to connect with
any of them.
There’s an absence of satisfaction in Hotel Artemis as an
action picture too. Is it plenty of action that constitutes what an action
film is or are a few big sequences enough, as in this movie? Due to the
divorce of plot and intrigue, there’s a dearth of audience engagement in
between Hotel Artemis’ admittedly well-choreographed punching and shooting scenes, at least
until the satisfyingly chaotic third act where total mayhem commences and
the rules are violently thrown out of the window.
Hotel Artemis is sort of an inferior descendant of
John Wick, with the hotel traded for a hospital.
Maybe the point isn’t to say something new about the future, or even tell a
story that makes sense. Pearce bleeds with ideas and it’s just easier to
simply sit back and let the bright colours and big action and hot-headed
criminals assault our senses. The sad thing is that, overall, it leaves us
cold at the end, despite the attempts at drawing our tears through deaths
that affect some of the genuinely sympathetic individuals in the nefarious
world.
Hotel Artemis is on Netflix UK
now.