Bad Times at the El Royale is a mystery crime thriller written and directed by Drew Goddard, and features an all-star cast including Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Cailee Spaeny, and Chris Hemsworth. The movie starts out like you might begin a joke: a priest, and hippie, a singer, and a vacuum cleaner salesman meet at an empty hotel. What follows next is a crazy story of deceit and duality, where nobody is who they seem to be.
The El Royale boasts a very distinct, Tarantino form of style and story structure, broken up into distinct chapters that each focus on a different character. These characters are where the movie really shines. Jon Hamm is likable as always. Jeff Bridges does some of his best acting in years, and his patented mumble of the past decade is gone; I haven't heard him this articulate since Tron: Legacy. Dakota Johnson plays another subdued role, but still proves that she can act when she's not chained down by bad writing and directing. Chris Hemsworth has never been more intimidating, and I've never heard him put on a better American accent. I want to draw special attention to Lewis Pullman, who, despite being relatively new to the screen, gave perhaps the best performance of the movie as the meek hotel clerk Miles.
My complaints with the movie were very few. They all boil down to a couple scenes that drag just a bit. Other than that, Bad Times at the El Royale did not disappoint in the least.
Review of Bad Times at the El Royale
