johnspringer-95440

It's primarily focused on the adult lives of several people who survived a plane crash as teenagers, intercut with flashbacks to the aftermath of the crash. It's entertaining enough as a jumble of melodrama, camp, survival horror, dark comedy and mystery. Unfortunately its disparate elements don't always gel: the plot sustains itself through illogical contrivances and the tone veers uneasily between realism and hyperbolic silliness. It was trashy fun but, given the adulation for the first season, I expected better. And since Season 1 doesn't resolve very much and everyone seems to agree that Seasons 2 and 3 are lousy, it doesn't seem worth the investment of time.

A faded actress is so desperate for beauty and relevancy that she enrolls in a shady blackmarket rejuvenation program with horrific side-effects. It's transparently an allegory for the social pressures faced by aging women and as such doesn't concern itself with the hows and whys of the rejuvenation program. Suffice it to say things eventually go bad and despite being overlong the movie nicely combines dark humor, body horror, hyperrealism and great performances from Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid. The ending goes all in on hyperbolic gore, which has proven divisive, but I thought it was fun and appropriately bonkers finale.

This has been called a return to form for Guy Ritchie, and while the story is definitely in his wheelhouse the movie overall lacks the verve, propulsive momentum and satisfying twists of his early crime/comedy hits. It's nevertheless a reasonably good time thanks to some excellent performances (Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant in particular), a brisk pace and stylish visual flair. It's probably unfair to compare it to Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch; but since this movie's own marketing referenced those films I think it bears noting that this doesn't even belong in the same conversation as those two masterpieces.