Amsterdam

The all-star cast rivals the ever-growing ensembles of Wes Anderson, and all involved give terrific performances full of spirit and personality. Filmmaker David O. Russell has made some noteworthy, well regarded films. Everyone behind the scenes turned in outstanding work across the board: sharp costume design, impeccable hair and makeup, crisp cinematography and editing, excellent stunts and effects, rich art direction, fine props, and so on and so on. The dialogue is witty, the characters are weird, the scene writing is wacky, and the story is, in turn, well-written, wild, wise, and/or worldly. And unfortunately, none of it impresses nearly as much as it's supposed to. 'Amsterdam' is very well made, there are some cutting ideas in the plot, and this even earns some laughs, but far more than not these 134 minutes come off as little more than a lot of hot air.

From the moment it begins there's an overwhelming sense of falseness to the proceedings; this sense will not change, and it will come to pervade most every facet of the production. Every time one of the many, many big-name stars comes into a scene, and especially when they appear for the first time, they are framed, or the camera zooms in on them, in a manner that's meant to pointlessly accentuate their celebrity (e.g., "Hey! Look who it is!"). Under Russell's guidance the cinematography is also, generally, often tawdrily grandiose, such as when the camera sweeps up from a low angle to look at Margot Robbie - not because the moment is dramatic, but specifically just because the inclusion is meant to wow us. For as unquestionably superb as the acting is, and for all the cleverness of the writing, far too much of that cleverness, and the actors' animated portrayals, come off in context as empty quirkiness and boisterousness for its own sake (e.g., "Hey! Look how silly this is!"). It also takes the better part of one hour for the picture to feel like it's finding its feet, yet at the same time, the narrative and scene writing result in plot development that's a tad sideways, caring about that Gee Golly quirkiness as much as the story on hand.

Even the production values, meeting the highest standards of live-action cinema in the 2020s, are actually kind of a problem; the utmost vividness of the image quality, and of every little detail, is a little too perfect. Speaking of "a little too perfect," the even tone and level-headed verbiage of Christian Bale's narration serves to flatten the vibrancy the feature should carry; consider a preteen child telling a scary story with the undeveloped, matter-of-fact, Just So storytelling sensibility of "This happened. And then this happened. Next, this happened." Much of the plot draws from notions that are all too real - the collusion of capitalist interests, the wealthy and powerful, and those with significant ties in society or government and/or the military; conspiracies to dominate, subjugate, oppress, and install fascist leaders; manipulation, gaslighting, propaganda, and the weaponization of medicine - and urgent, admirable themes of diversity, acceptance of minorities and the marginalized, justice, equality, the pursuit of truth, actively fighting authoritarians, and more. All of this was relevant to the period in question, and remains despairingly, desperately relevant in 2023. Yet too much else about 'Amsterdam' either countermands that substance, or treats it too lightly, or distracts from it: that Gee Golly quirkiness, the most raucous sequences, the utmost perfection of most elements; the most whimsical aspects of the art direction, the exceptional performances that under Russell's direction threaten to become their own story rather than to serve the one being told, the prevailing light tenor; the pointed repetition of key words or phrases ("Amsterdam," "Committee of Five") like they were the Word of the Day in an episode of 'Pee-Wee's Playhouse'; and more.

Everything looks and sounds great in and of itself. I'm a big fan of many of the cast members, and from one to the next I don't know whose performance is stronger. Between Russell's writing and direction, however, the impression that 'Amsterdam' makes is of a movie that wants to emphasize how smart it is, and how well made it is, and how many stars it has, and just how ridiculous its most ridiculous parts are - rather than how important, meaningful, and worthy the narrative is. This title is so self-important that it wants to point to all its "Gee whiz!" factors as its attractants and its strength rather than the earnest substance it has to offer, or the earnest hard work that everyone put into it. We know that Russell can be a great filmmaker. While I haven't watched it in some time, I fell in love with 'I heart Huckabees' from the first time I saw it. Sadly, despite all that it serves up and all that it could and should have been, this 2022 flick just doesn't make the grade, and I think that comes back entirely to Russell. The cast and crew deserved a better film; this should have been that better film. I don't abjectly dislike it, but it feels like no more than half of a whole, and the half that's missing includes the heart and integrity. I'm glad for those who appreciate 'Amsterdam' more than I do, but as far as I'm concerned it's no wonder that this came and went last year with so little fanfare. Better luck next time, everyone.

I approached "Amsterdam" with foreboding because of its many negative reviews, but it turned out to be fun, suspenseful, and with great acting performances by all. And along the way the movie highlighted the difficult path of WWI veterans after the war, and brought up a now little-know plot against Roosevelt by some big businessmen.

The period clothing, cars, and etc. Were superb. As another reviewer stated, Christian Bale was awesome, but Zoe Saldana and David Washington, along with DeNiro, made the movie special.

There were shots depicting the horrible injuries incurred in WWII, and the suffering vets continued to have when they arrived back in the States.

Altogether a surprisingly coherent movie, despite what most reviewers had said.

IN A NUTSHELL: In the 1930s, three friends witness a murder, are framed for it and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.

Fun fact: The plot is based on an actual conspiracy in 1933 when American bankers and businessmen plotted a military coup to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt to replace him with Major General Smedley Butler. The film was both written and directed by David O. Russell.

THINGS I LIKED: The talented cast is almost endless and includes Hollywood A-listers and 3 Oscar winners, as well as 2 Oscar nominees ike Robert De Niro, Christian Bale, Rami Malek, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, and even music icon Taylor Swift!

I didn't expect so much singing! Nice! Does anyone know if those actors were actually singing or dubbed?

It's fun to see comedian Chris Rock in this movie. Rumor has it that Christian Bale refused to talk to him because Christian was so worried Chris would make him laugh on set. Christian Bale was one of the producers of the film. In fact, the entire cast seemed to be having a ball. Watching actors enjoy their roles always makes it more enjoyable for audiences. The cast was so excited about working with the director and each other that they all lowered their regular fees.

The set designs and costumes easily set a believable tone for the period. Everything LOOKED great, including all of the actors. It's the telling of the story itself that prevented the movie from becoming a charming hit. Instead, it's expected to lose $97 million worldwide.

Trying to solve the whodunnit mystery is a fun element of the film, although most viewers won't care about the answer.

It's said that it cost $80 million to make this movie, partly because the sets had already been built in Boston but, due to the pandemic, the location had to be changed to Los Angeles.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Unfortunately, the script didn't measure up to the vast talent of the cast. It's a matter of expectations not being met that has left most viewers deflated. When we see the impressive cast list, we naturally assume the movie is going to be great.

I've been to Amsterdam twice now. It's a beautiful city. I wish the movie had more street scenes to really get the vibe of the city. We don't even see any of the famous canals in the movie.

It's weird that even with so much star power, I was bored many times and couldn't wait for it to end.

The plot is convoluted and overstuffed. The movie felt like a patchwork quilt, stitched together with loose threads and random pieces of beautiful fabric. The parts were definitely better than the sum in this disappointing movie. It seems to be the victim of 14 different scripts that were worked on during the production.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: We see a dead body being dissected in an autopsy We see bloodied soldiers riddled with bullets that must be removed.

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Can't see why there are so many negative reviews unless it's right wing trolls or the typical american cluelessness about the country's past (and present) and painfully limited attention span. GREAT cast. You have to be patient with films like this and I'm sorry that that's enough to turn off so many people. The editing is a bit rough at times but not enough to warrant the negativity.

Now I have to meet the required character count so feel free to ignore the rest of this review and GIVE THIS MOVIE A CHANCE! I'd watch these actors in almost anything so I was happy the indifference to this film turned out to be unjustified.

This movie is a bit long at over 2 hours but is written, acted, and directed in a style that is interesting all the way. There is quirkiness, sometimes it reminded me of Wes Anderson's movies, like "The Grand Budapest Hotel." The character played by Christian Bale, a disheveled doctor who lost an eye in the war, reminded us of Peter Faulk's 1970s TV series Columbo in his mannerisms and his quest to find out facts.

While this is almost entirely a fictional story it is loosely based on something that was called "The Business Plot." Roosevelt was newly elected and a group of businessmen didn't like the direction things were headed. So they hatched a plan to overthrow the President.

But very little of the running time is actually devoted to that, most of it has the three main characters, accused of murdering a woman by pushing her into the street to be run over by a delivery truck, working to prove their innocence and to focus in on the real bad actors.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library, a totally interesting and entertaining take on the times.