18th moviepass = Artemis Hotel. Somewhere in this mess is a kernel of a good idea. In a tumultuous future LA, teeming with riots, an unlicensed hospital catering to the criminal element operates in the shadows, run by a tireless yet worldweary soul (Jodie Foster).
I felt a lack of ability on the part of those involved in directing to convey chaos. In its opening, there is rioting in the street, a bank heist is underway, but I wasn’t instilled with any heightened sense of panic. So when we move to the Artemis, I didn’t feel a sense of oasis from the storm; it’s just kinda dull. As we tour the impressively conceived of retro space, it feels like showing off, not development. Foster is fine, but does not command attention for a while long while. Things eventually do start to build to a frenzy, laden with cliches, such as an exciting enough narrow hallway shown down between lone protagonist and a horde of underlings (thanks, Oldboy) but by this point, I was already… checked out (pardon the pun).
Violence is needlessly gruesome at times, and the very underwhelming use of an intriguing cast leads me to the conclusion that this should’ve received a lot of revision before hitting the big screen.
Points for managing to fit Jodie Foster, Batista, Jeff Goldblum, and Charlie Day into one of the most unlikely cast mashups imaginable.
When involved in action sequences, Sofia Boutella is a captivating femme fatale, whose performance will hopefully not be overlooked.
mondocurry 