Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard, 2018)

[Boosmahn]

Bad Times at the El Royale
Cynthia Erivo belts out several great pop songs of 50 years ago at some unlikely moments. When the cleverness flags have Cynthia sing, and it's a good idea. Jeff Bridges is the other reason to see this, he invests, I don't know, dignity maybe, to this pulp extravaganza, a performance not just for completists.

I'm surprised there's only been one mention of Bad Times at the El Royale on this thread; I saw it this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The performances, twists, and soundtrack (I'm a sucker for '60s classics) were all fantastic, and the story even managed to include some themes on the abuse of power without being too in-your-face or preachy. I will admit that the pacing could use some tightening, though.

It's a shame that the film hasn't been faring well at the box office -- it's rare to get something that has its cards all line up like this. One reviewer called it "classy pulp fiction" and I couldn't agree more.

[Roger Ryan]

I'm surprised there's only been one mention of Bad Times at the El Royale on this thread; I saw it this past weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The performances, twists, and soundtrack (I'm a sucker for '60s classics) were all fantastic, and the story even managed to include some themes on the abuse of power without being too in-your-face or preachy. I will admit that the pacing could use some tightening, though.

It's a shame that the film hasn't been faring well at the box office -- it's rare to get something that has its cards all line up like this. One reviewer called it "classy pulp fiction" and I couldn't agree more.

I was a huge champion of Drew Goddard's first feature as director (2012's The Cabin in the Woods), so did not want to miss his new one at the cinema. I was not disappointed. The gorgeous widescreen compositions and inspired art direction demand a theatrical viewing. It's true that the approach the film takes borrows heavily from Tarantino, but Goddard's layering of subtext and historical allusions elevates the film above its influences. Great performances throughout including the breakout one for Cynthia Erivo who sings up a storm and is given a short, brilliant take-down speech that effectively climaxes the picture. The soundtrack is, indeed, superb and, like Goddard's previous feature, the selections are not the obvious ones (especially for a film set in 1969), and pleasingly underline the plot turns with irony. For those who enjoyed the horror-movie-trope send-up while watching The Cabin in the Woods only to realize later that Goddard also had something to say about religion and the military-industrial complex, you'll find his new film to have plenty to mull over after you've been entertained.

[Brian C]

On the whole, I enjoyed this. If nothing else, it has some genuinely unpredictable story elements and is very effectively atmospheric, and I agree that the production design here is first-rate.

But like a lot of twisty-turny scripts, it doesn't stick the landing. It's all build with no payoff and then somehow even manages to sink into awkward sentimentality at the end. But the first hour or so is really killer, with gradually diminishing returns beginning around the time that Hemsworth's character shows up.

I think a little adjustment in focus might have helped somewhat. The nature of the script means that it takes its time settling on a central character, but eventually it lands on Bridges, who is probably the least interesting character here. And yet the character with the most complicated and conflicting set of motives is Johnson's, and it's her character that draws the shortest stick.

[nitin]

I would agree with that entire assessment Brian, also found it enjoyable but way too long, especially with a climax that needed more energy and OTT zaniness after all that buildup.