Review of Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) by Philip P — 10 Dec 2018

This was the third of three movies I saw within a span of about six hours all of which were over two hours. Bad Times at the El Royale was also the second consecutive two-hour and twenty-plus minute film I saw and yet, despite those number of factors stacked against it due to nothing other than pure circumstance, it was easily the one I most enjoyed and was the most intrigued in of the day. Take of that what you will.

I loved almost everything about the first hour or so of this. The style of the camera work, the inherent tension in the writing, the character choices, and the editing that fluidly compacts every perspective writer/director Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods) introduces into a compelling mystery, but also visually conveys the themes the story is chasing. Bad Times at the El Royale is all about duality and perspective and the different ways in which one individual might perceive another based on the perception of their reality. While this may sound rather basic in terms of ideas what makes Goddard's approach work all the better is that he doesn't just layer in misdirects as cheap tricks, but truths so as to give the audience genuine pause to who can be trusted.

It is in the second hour and extended climactic confrontation that the tension begins to fizzle and it becomes clear certain story strands will not be explored further much less wrapped-up. That said, what does occur is still very much an entertaining time at the El Royale with character confrontations that refuse to fully diffuse the situation and therefore the tension at hand. It is in this extended climax that Chris Hemsworth's character, Billy Lee, shows up and takes the film in a direction that doesn't tend to layer in everyone else as much as the first half. Whether Billy distracts due to the fact Hemsworth is dancing around with his shirt off I don't know, but despite being satisfied with the frankness of the conclusion there is a desire Goddard might have continued in the more complex vein of his set-up rather than allowing a single character to take things off the rails.

Still, this thing is filled to the brim with solid work from an impressive ensemble cast, looks beyond fantastic on the big screen, and is immensely entertaining in ways that we don't often get to see this kind of storytelling on this grand of a scale anymore.