Review of Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) by Aaron C — 20 Oct 2018

Bad Times at The El Royale.

2018.

Dir: Drew Goddard.

Runtime: 2 hrs and 21 mins.

Synopsis: The El Royale is a run down that sits on the border of California and Nevada. It soon becomes a seedy battleground when seven strangers - a cleric, a soul singer, a traveling salesman, two sisters, the hotel manager and the mysterious Billie Lee - converge on a fateful night for one last shot at redemption.

I don't know if I had high expectations or what I was really expecting from this film. Suspense at most with some action and has a great cast. The idea was great for what was attempted and the concept wasn't very original at all which I think my biggest issue was. Writer and director Drew Goddard tried to make the film a Tarantino film, which anyone that watches his films know exactly what I mean by that. Tarantino is one of favorite directors which at first when the film first kicked off I had to go and check who directed it. Had the right idea to explain the storyline in the suspense kind of idea, introduce the characters and then explore their background on how they got to where they are as they all converge on one place. The El Royale idea was cool and I was super excited to see how they would play on the idea that the hotel sits directly on the border between California and Nevada but they only mention when the characters are introduced and then it really isn't touched on much any after that. The story itself was written very well it all becomes full circle by the end of the film and each character has a drastic means as to how they came to the Royale. The issue with it even being written well is that the dialogue itself is very dry. There is more or less a waiting until the next dramatic scene or small sequence of action will happen next. The cinematography itself was amazing the camera work and the dynamic shots help the film together for the artistic side of it. Great wide shots and great camera angles. Now the characters were great because of how each one is explored. Super star cast with great character development, you get a small taste of who each one is followed by why they came to the Royale. The villain played by Chris Hemsworth which is obviously unexpected unless you've seen the trailer. He was a different kind of villain very uncomfortable kind of character if you will. Has a creepy presence and if you see the film you'll see what I'm talking about. Him playing a villain is very different as well as the character that he plays. Not sure if I could recommend a theatre watch considering I wasn't really impressed and the runtime is super long with the dry dialogue of the film. Probably wouldn't buy for the same reasons.

2/5???? I know that my rating probably isn't up there with the rest but the film was very predictable which I was hoping for some dramatic twist at the end. Just wasn't that impressed tbh. ??