Amsterdam

It's always hard coming off a week where I was able to passionately write reviews quickly and easily. Last week was such a week where it felt like the reviews were half written before I even started.

And I liked Amsterdam - apparently much more than professional critics, who feel like they widely missed the mark on this one - it's just that I don't have a whole lot to say about it (and I always say that and then watch this review go long). 

Amsterdam's immediate pull is its bonkers how'd-they-get-that-many-people cast. You've got Christian Bale, John David Washington, Margot Robbie, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Robert de Niro, Rami Malek, and even Taylor Swift. Many of those are minimal roles, but still...half the fun of the film is seeing who's portraying any new character.

Some feel wasted - Timothy Olyphant most so - but otherwise it's a centered film around 3 main friends and the others are in decently sized supporting roles. 

What struck me about Amsterdam is just how much the trailers really don't describe anything. The overall plot was far different than I suspected it would be from the trailers and I'd almost argue they did it a disservice because I [mostly] loved the film's tale of semi-historical fiction. There in lies the film's biggest fault however is that it goes from a quirky comedy of mystery and during the film's finale it gets overly messy and very preachy. It's not even that I was disagreeing with what it was preaching, but it was overtly blatant, as if it assumed the audience was dense as hell, essentially to the point of "These guys are BAD, ok? And these guys are GOOD, ok?"

But, I tend not to overly fault films on their misfired endings, but rather use it as a distinguishing point that if you can't end the movie well, it's going to hurt your final score. For Amsterdam, I'd argue it took a full point from what I was originally leaning toward giving it. In the instance of Amsterdam, it was a shame that what had unfurled like a good novel, quickly became a hodgepodge of exposition dumps and weirdly shifting character behaviors/motivations. Up until that point I'd been fully along for the ride and the mystery that Burt (Bale) and Harold (Washington) were trying to uncover. As they recognize in the film, it's much bigger than them, which is likely where my surprise of the trailer's small-scale comes in. 

"Batman, Harley Quinn, and...hey! Someone get
John David Washington a superhero movie role STAT!"

Along the way, we're treated to a well-written and acted David O. Russel film. If my memory serves me, I've never outright loved any one of his films (and I arguably have a resume gap as far as he's concerned) but I've never had any that I less than like either. In the case of Amsterdam, I wish it had done more from all the technical angles that I love so dearly. Set design and costumes capture the era well, but the cinematography and editing are semi-dull and the original score is just there. But the writing is fun, especially when coupled with this cast. Bale in particular is the highlight, as a joyfully funny, semi-crazed doctor with a glass eye. Bale's having quite a year being the "best" part of the films he's in but he's got help in Amsterdam too. He and JDW and Margot Robbie have fun chemistry as a group of friends that make a pact to always remain so. Their focus on friendship is another thing I enjoyed about the film as it's never all that mean-spirited and keeps things arguably light despite some heavier subject matter. Outside of that trio, De Niro and Chris Rock get the most to do, completely nailing their assignments, and most everyone else on the list from earlier paragraphs does just fine. Collectively there are several laugh-out-loud moments (mostly from Bale) and plenty of humorous moments that will make you smile in between.

I'm honestly not quite sure why Amsterdam has such middling reviews, but I am in dissenting disagreement. It won't light your world on fire, but as I mentioned, it plays like a good novel for the majority of its screentime. Unfurling with a good script and a fun story that keeps you and it's memorable characters involved. That the ending seems to shift gears is a disappointment, but not one where it ruined the journey that got me there. 

CONS

• Ending is messy, particularly with a couple character behaviors/motivations
• Also gets weirdly blatantly preachy when it feels like "Ok, we get it?"
• Probably ~10 minutes too long
• Lack of inspiring cinematography, editing, or original score
• Some of the impressive cast feels wasted. Timothy Olyphant felt the most underutilized

PROS

• Fun story that was bigger than the trailers let on. Builds its mystery well and I enjoyed the somewhat non-sequential order
• Incredible cast and even better collection of zany characters
• Bale is the MVP here, likely unsurprisingly but JDW and Robbie are nearly as strong and the three of them have genuine friendship chemistry
• Often very funny, including some LOL moments. It's a fun film

Rath's Review Score | 7.5/10