Oh boy does this movie start strong. And the premise is brilliant, but it can't sustain itself, and in the end it felt like an anemic crawl to the finish line.
The movie is of a hotel run by nurse who is haunted by her past, and drinks to alleviate emotional pain. Jodie Foster plays the unnamed nurse simply named The Nurse. The hotel is a cover for a patch-up place for high-level criminals. Imagine a hi-tech low-rent dump used for the recovery of the scummiest of the scums of the world. EXCEPT...they aren't really all that evil. Or haven't proven it (fail #1). Sterline Brown plays Waikiki, a lifer criminal who finds himself back at the hotel after a botched crime. There he reunites with a past flame Nice (like the French city) played by Sofia Boutella.
Without getting into too much of these plot, because there isn't really much there...the script really doesn't do much with their backstory either, the true hero here is Jodie Foster. With her babbling non-descript colloquialisms, we learn she is the true heart of the place. The owner is a big time scary crime boss who just so happens to have been injured one night (fail #2). Also, though it doesn't have many characters, I was a little shocked how much mystery even the closest of relationships become throwaway characters. You leaning forward to get some glimpse of warmth where none is delivered. It's aggravating and frustrating and will turn many people off.
Sadly, this story is CRUSHED by its style as well. The relationship of the hotel's security Everest (Dave Bautista) and her are the most touching. And this leaves you wanting more of their banter and closeness. But this movie wants to be tough and resists sentiment. Too bad. We saw this before in "John Wick" at their hotel. Whilst there's was closer to a true downtown Los Angeles sophisticate syndicate, the Hotel Artemis is fine being the run down Art Deco grim step-sister. To me...this movie really needed to be a mini-series. It seemed like borrowed sets with borrowed bits and pieces of previous (better) movies. And in the end, you're left with no reason that it needed to be made. In this instance...it does not live up to what it sets up. The stakes are set up as high but seem to be easily overcome. It's an odd movie. If Jeff Goldblum is why you go see this movie, prepare to be disappointed. His presence, is grim and confusing. And he enters too late to fix the problems of a substance-less flick. What a shame.
The movie is of a hotel run by nurse who is haunted by her past, and drinks to alleviate emotional pain. Jodie Foster plays the unnamed nurse simply named The Nurse. The hotel is a cover for a patch-up place for high-level criminals. Imagine a hi-tech low-rent dump used for the recovery of the scummiest of the scums of the world. EXCEPT...they aren't really all that evil. Or haven't proven it (fail #1). Sterline Brown plays Waikiki, a lifer criminal who finds himself back at the hotel after a botched crime. There he reunites with a past flame Nice (like the French city) played by Sofia Boutella.
Without getting into too much of these plot, because there isn't really much there...the script really doesn't do much with their backstory either, the true hero here is Jodie Foster. With her babbling non-descript colloquialisms, we learn she is the true heart of the place. The owner is a big time scary crime boss who just so happens to have been injured one night (fail #2). Also, though it doesn't have many characters, I was a little shocked how much mystery even the closest of relationships become throwaway characters. You leaning forward to get some glimpse of warmth where none is delivered. It's aggravating and frustrating and will turn many people off.
Sadly, this story is CRUSHED by its style as well. The relationship of the hotel's security Everest (Dave Bautista) and her are the most touching. And this leaves you wanting more of their banter and closeness. But this movie wants to be tough and resists sentiment. Too bad. We saw this before in "John Wick" at their hotel. Whilst there's was closer to a true downtown Los Angeles sophisticate syndicate, the Hotel Artemis is fine being the run down Art Deco grim step-sister. To me...this movie really needed to be a mini-series. It seemed like borrowed sets with borrowed bits and pieces of previous (better) movies. And in the end, you're left with no reason that it needed to be made. In this instance...it does not live up to what it sets up. The stakes are set up as high but seem to be easily overcome. It's an odd movie. If Jeff Goldblum is why you go see this movie, prepare to be disappointed. His presence, is grim and confusing. And he enters too late to fix the problems of a substance-less flick. What a shame.