mohanhaworth

I think it's completely unquestionable that whilst Christopher Nolan can be regarded as an exceptional director, he is ultimately a maestro of a storyteller. Whilst this film in no way tops Memento, it still manages to play around with form in such a way which I think none of his other films have really done. Is it easier to watch than Memento? Yes. Does that make it more exciting than Memento? No. But this film was still compelling and exciting and had more twists and turns than a country road, which were all executed masterfully.

I was pleasantly surprised by Huge Ackman's performance, and a bit underwhelmed by Christian Bale's if I'm completely honest. As a massive David Bowie fan, I smiled when he came into the story and I think that if he hadn't passed so suddenly in 2016, he would've been perfect in other roles, as I thought he was brilliant as Tesla, bringing his signature charm as well as an air of mystique.

Some really compelling visuals, the opening shot of the top hats accompanied by the narration, "Are you watching closely?" immediately piques the audience's interest.

Music was a bit meh, and I'm going to compare it to Memento because I think that is the film that bears the most similarities to it out of all of the ones in the Nolanverse. Not as good as Memento, but little else is, that score is up there with Vertigo for me.

So ultimately, not my favourite Nolan, but definitely a strong film, and thankfully not as bad as The Dark Knight Rises.

Yep, you caught me. Film night, which constitutes a film being picked would you believe it, and despite everyone being ordered to pick a film, THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN. So we go onto Netflix and choose to put on the first film we see, The Terminal, which I knew nothing about, apart from (and only from the thumbnail on Netflix) that Tom Hanks was in it.

Now, despite being absolutely brilliant in 90s films such as The Green Mile and Cast Away, as well as Toy Story, I think that Tom Hanks is having a bit of a rough ride in recent years. His performance in Elvis was shocking and I have refrained from watching his two Wes Anderson films because I don't want to ruin my perception of him any more than already has been done.

So picture my surprise when I found myself enthralled and laughing my head off (in a good way) for this film's entire runtime!

Perfectly paced and scripted, despite only being set in one location, although I think this really gave time for the characters' personalities to shine through, highlighting wonderful performances by Hanks, Stanley Tucci, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Then picture my further surprise at discovering it was directed by Steven Spielberg!

I shall say no more, only that I strongly encourage you to watch it, because you will also most definitely be pleasantly surprised.

Wow. What a film. With films that are regarded as the 'greats', I go in to viewing them with a cautious and slightly cynical attitude, but it was hard for that to persist throughout watching this.

Sure, I hated how it looked, but that's intentional (I'm just not a big fan of the dirty, grimy greenness). I wasn't a big fan of some of the CGI bits as well, but I loved the actual fighting scenes, despite them being bloody brutal. I also really liked the bit where Edward Norton is wandering through his apartment as if he's in an IKEA magazine.

I really liked how the characters were portrayed in this film, almost in a sort of caricature manner, with everyone being a bit larger than life. I thought Meat Loaf's Bob was absolutely hilarious, and Helena Bonham Carter was sensational. Here's a bit of a hot take though, whilst Brad Pitt was incredible, I think that Edward Norton was unbeatable, and was definitely the most layered and rich character, yet doesn't get the recognition I think he deserves for this film and actually got paid $15 million less than Pitt. Just sayin'.

Incredible storyline, and as I'm sure you've gathered from all the other reviews dear reader, an incredible ending that changes your perception of the whole film. Oh, and watch out for the frame before the credits roll...

I must admit, apart from the iconic Pixies outro, I didn't like the soundtrack in this film, but that's me, it's still an incredible film and one of those that's on everyone's watch lists for a reason. On the tip of everyone's tongues...