Hurry Up Tomorrow

Prefacing this by saying i am a huge fan of the weeknd, and was willing to give this film a chance after the idol. That being said, this film just felt wholly unneeded? It might be better than the idol, sure, but that's not saying much. But it didn't really DO anything, narrative wise, development wise, etc. The best way i'd describe this would be it feels like a long music video, with nice shots, and (maybe too many) songs, but lacks any real substance to it... i will say i appreciated some parts, especially when there was a dive into abel's introspection in the dream sequences. But the issue was, it really just didn't dive deep enough to feel meaningful, and ultimately fell flat.

Abel's acting is an improvement from his last stunt but it's not saying much. Coming from a place of love for his music and craft, i think he would be much more successful behind the scenes rather than in front of it (at least for now). Overall? I would watch it if you want to get a few laughs in from unintentionally funny scenes, and if you are a big fan of the weeknd, it's worth a shot.

In the first half I was prone to say wow, this is not as bad as I expected. The cinematography was pretty decent, I liked the colors and the references (for example The Shining's hotel lobby). Plot was nearly inexistent, and it's a shame because it had lots of potential going on. I never had the chance to see more about the girl in his phone, I never actually learned the story behind Ortega's arsonicism. Nothing more than poor edging.

In the interviews, Abel is talking a lot about his traumatic event of losing his voice, but this plot was at best secondary, and i was disappointed of that too.

Overall, I really really love Abel and his music but his movies not so much.

This movie contains numerous spinning camera angles and a soundtrack that tries to imitate the Bladerunner 2049 at times. From the opening scene where the song went on a lot longer than it really should have, I already had a sinking feeling about the movie. Thirty minutes later and almost nothing about the plot has been revealed. Heck, Jenny Ortega hasn't even spoken a single word. What a complete waste of time. This movie tries way too hard to be surreal and it completely failed to do anything to make me care about any of the characters. What is this movie trying to achieve? I honestly have no idea.

It's an okay movie, but not what I was expecting story-wise. I do get why a lot of diehard Weeknd fans will like it, and I don't want to take that away from them, but coming from a semi-fan who really enjoyed the album, it could've been a lot better. A lot of fluff could have been cut to make a much better ending. And I'm not just talking about unimportant scenes, there are several moments where characters just stand and do nothing for like, 6 seconds or so. Basic information even slight fans of the Weeknd should know is spoon-fed, while critical information about the entire movie has to be pieced together as the credits roll. It is pretty emotional, it just could have been executed so much better. Also, if you at all suffer from epilepsy or dizziness, do not see this movie. There's no warning but there's a ton of bright rapidly flashing lights and fast moving camera angles.

You are significantly more likely to enjoy this movie if any of the following are true: You are a Jenna Ortega stan. You love The Weeknd and his music. You like ethereal movies where metaphors and symbolism are the main draw. You don't mind visual storytelling with minimal actual story.

None of the above are true for me. I think Jenna Ortega is a highly talented actress and does not disappoint with this performance. The Weeknd also does a good job, although it's hard to tell since he's playing himself. And they are two of the realest celebrities out there, never afraid to stand up for what's right.

As for the movie overall, I found it overly slow and pretty boring. The story is super basic and could have been told in half the time. The visuals are cool but feel pointless. It will really depend on each viewer if the visuals and music are enough to make this an enjoyable experience.

(1 viewing, early screening UltraScreen 5/14/2025)