Review of The Post (2017) by Saintdecky — 14 Jan 2018

The Post is, in most ways (I'm not going to go into any controversies this movie may bring up) an average movie. Everything about it was just, okay.

Acting: Tom Hanks was definitely not the perfect actor for the role. Ben Bradlee was a meaner, cigar-smoking guy, yet whenever Hanks appears on screen, I see Tom Hanks. He does try to fit the character more, but in the end, he's still Tom Hanks.

Miscellaneous: The thing about this movie is that Spielberg obviously had to make 2 hours of talking interesting. Hence why most of the scenes in this movie involve choreography. In nearly every scene, people are circling each other or moving around in some way, to give the scenes energy that they would lack if they were just talking about newspapers. This makes it feel all the more unrealistic and even makes it feel like a play. Characters will often speak in perfect order, starting right after the last one stops. The whole movie is so Hollywood and polished that it feels completely unrealistic. I also felt it lacked complete emotional investment. Sure, seeing Meryl Streep shut down the men in charge who dislike her is great and all, but otherwise I never felt much tension, even with the intense movements.

I did not love The Post, but it killed 2 hours and I don't feel they were wasted. It's worth watching just because it'll probably get a few nominations, and it is Spielberg after all. It's probably one of the most average, passable movies I've seen in a while.