I had a decent time with this movie. It's nothing special but is mostly enjoyable. The best part is the cast. I love Jessica Chastain. Diane Kruger gives a good performance. Lupita Nyong'o is kind of a beast; she kills the emotional moments. The action is fun and I was never bored.
There are also a ton of flaws. The fight scenes are super choppy with lots of quick cuts. So many moments are fully predictable. They try to have a message but in the clunkiest of ways. Like this line, "We all look different, we speak different, but we are the same." I love me a message about unity and I despise racism, but you gotta do better than that. And there are a couple moments where I burst out laughing at an unintentionally hilarious moment, like one involving a perfume bottle.
I also can't stand when a movie has stuff in the script that belongs in a rated R movie but they want to sell to a wider audience so they hide things and cut away. It's so noticeable and takes me out of the movie. Either remove those parts completely, or just go for it and make it rated R. Most movie fans including myself would enjoy it more and respect it more. And maybe it wouldn't have been such a flop at the box office.
In the end, I'm glad I watched this but I doubt I'd revisit it. Although I'm pretty sure I'd watch a sequel. Just please hire a good fight director and just go all in with an R-rating.
Random side note, does anyone else think the actor who plays Luis looks like a Latino Gerard Butler?
Another side note, why is Lupita Nyong'o 17th on the list of actors on IMDb? She should be third at worst, if not second. And I don't mean the full list which is in order of appearance. This is on the main page for The 355. Seems fishy. (1 viewing, 3/12/2022)
