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The Reviews for 'Hotel Artemis' Are in and They Don't Look Good

2 1/2 Stars

By John WalkerPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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Hotel Artemis has all the pieces of being a really good under the radar movie that will slip by the opening of Ocean's 8. Though the box office is not like horseshoes and close won't cut it. There is enough of a loose story structure that allows the audience to follow along but there is nothing to latch on to.

With the multiple different storylines to follow with each character having there own reason for being at the hotel that night, Hotel Artemis misses its mark and could have been a great film. I'm not saying anything close to Oscar worthy but if there was more attention to the details in the story this could have been better.

The story is about Nurse (Jodie Foster) who runs a hospital for criminals in Los Angeles in 2028. The story starts with two robbers (Sterling Brown & Bryce Henry). That night there is a huge riot in Los Angeles after the big water supplier in the city shuts off everyone's water. Everything is fine until the main mobster (Jeff Goldblum) who runs the city needs to come into The Artemis for the last room.

Then a cop (Jenny Slate) who was injured during the riot shows up on The Artemis and Nurse's doorstep. Usually, the hotel has members only, but Nurse allows the cop in because she knew her son. To add on top of that there is an assassin who is using the Artemis as a cover to kill the mobster.

Nurse (Jodie Foster) waiting for a new patient to enter into Hotel Artemis.

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There is a problem that the movie has. It misses a few notes that take it from four stars to two. There are a few character points that the movie only scratches the surface. Part of the story is that Nurse had a son who was presumed to have died due to a drug overdose. The cop that shows up ended up being a friend of her son when he was alive. The movie doesn't know who it wants to make its main storyline.

There are three storylines: the one with Nurse and the cop, there is the mobster's youngest son who is trying to show he can lead the family crime business but he is soft, there is the one with the actual guests who were there before the mobster. Though you can't understand what everything with Nurse's son is all about and is probably the most important part of the movie. The movie seems to follow Brown and Henry's characters the most when it should be Nurse's story about the grief of her son's death.

Another part of the film that it overlooks is that the hotel is a character in itself. There is no explanation of the rules for the hotel which play a big role in the film as well. When Nurse first breaks the rule and lets the cop into the hotel, the whole movie starts going haywire.

There is so much explaining that needs to be done that would have made this a better movie. There is enough to get you through the busy night at the Artemis but not enough for you to fully enjoy the movie. Are there some good action moments? Yes, but all at the end. If you are someone who does not enjoy blood spew all over the place, this might not be the action film for you. Though for an original action film, it could be worse.

If I had to say something nice about the film is that the casting is amazing. Foster as Nurse does a great job of being this scary old nurse that knows how to cure anything but break her rules and she will hurt you instead and has some very witty dialogue with all the guests. Goldblum plays a really good eccentric mobster who gets all of five minutes of screen time. Also, Brown has great chemistry no matter its with his brother played by Henry, a trained assassin Sofia Boutella which the two had some pre-story romance or an arms dealer played by Charlie Day who Brown manages to suave his way to stealing his wallet. Though these performances aren't enough to carry this movie to anything about two and a half stars.

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About the Creator

John Walker

I'm a student Film and TV critic. Check out my Letterboxd and TV Time accounts to see what I'm watching. I also, do a little sports journalism and feature writing.

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