A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Tanmay Shukla
By Tanmay Shukla
Hotel Artemis was well on its way in the
first half to become a neo-noir classic but the director and writer Drew Pearce
was not successful in his attempt to get the best out of a premise that is
original and promising. It is the negligence in the end to rescue it from slipping
into the pitfalls of predictability which made it underwhelming.
Jean Thomas runs a hospital for criminals
in the run-down building of Hotel Artemis, a haven for felonious for the last 22
years. She lets them in only if they have a membership. Jean is consumed by the
grief of losing her teenage son Beau to a drug overdose and seeks refuge in
treating criminals in between bouts of alcohol. She has grown accustomed to
being underground and hasn’t stepped outside her hotel for a very long time.
A one night story, Hotel Artemis begins
with brothers Waikiki and Honolulu robbing a bank.Honolulu steals an ornate looking
pen from a banker unaware of its value. While fleeing with their bounty the
robbers run into cops and Honolulu gets wounded. Waikiki arrives with his
brother to Hotel Artemis just in time.
There are other guests in the hotel too.
Nice is a deceptive beauty who is not just bold and badass, but also a
professional assassin. Acapulco, a misogynist realizes this a little too late
for his own good. Jean Thomas who always insists on following the rules breaks
them herself when she lets in Morgan, a cop who was asking for help. The final
guest is Niagara, the Wolf King who is also owns the place. He is in need of
prompt medical attention. He is accompanied by his son Crosby who has always
let his father down. We learn that the pen Honolulu stole actually belongs to
the Wolf King which contain something precious.
 |
| Jeff Goldblum in Hotel Artemis |
Drew Pearce meticulously builds the futuristic
world of Hotel Artemis which is set in Los Angeles of 2028. He accomplishes the
feeling of discord and lawlessness lurking in the air from his edgy characters, cinematography
of Chung Chung-hoon (It, Oldboy) and
the music by Cliff Martinez whose work in Nicolas Refn’s Drive was memorable to
say the least, here he comes up with another masterful soundtrack which
features songs like California Dreaming, City Of The Angels etc to amplify the
mood created by the visuals while swiftly raising the tempo.
Jodie Foster makes a comeback to the big screen
after a hiatus of almost five years. It’s almost a given that an actor of her
stature is going to nail every character she assumes. Here she plays Jean
Thomas without breaking a sweat.
 |
| Sterling K. Brown and Sofia Boutella in Hotel Artemis |
Sofia Boutella injects glamour into the
film as well as her character of Nice. She looks stunning taking on Wolf King’s
henchmen in her blood red attire. Sterling K. Brown plays Waikiki with a
sensitive touch, while both Zachary Quinto and Jeff Goldblum (who play Crosby
and Wolf King respectively) give a sinister shade to their characters. Dave
Bautista plays Everest, Jean’s loyal assistant who takes care of everything.
When it comes to style element, Drew Pearce
has made a conscious effort to give his film a distinct visual look. The art
director Jonathan Carlos and Sam Avila has enriched the film with grimy,
elaborate details in mise-en-scene. The production design thus aptly completes
as well complement the mood and style.
There is no particular broad idea in focus, it’s neither meant to be an action frenzy like Atomic Blonde or John Wick and it also dawdles in the middle. Hotel Artemis just about manages to engage and overall remains a middling movie with bits of everything but enough of nothing.
There is no particular broad idea in focus, it’s neither meant to be an action frenzy like Atomic Blonde or John Wick and it also dawdles in the middle. Hotel Artemis just about manages to engage and overall remains a middling movie with bits of everything but enough of nothing.
Rating: 6/10
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
Hotel Artemis - Original Trailer (YouTube)
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
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