The last Film Fight of the year sees five films try to get that final place…
First up, 6 Days is a dramatic retelling of the 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy in London. It doesn’t quite work. The runtime doesn’t allow it to build out the plot too much, and most of the characters are left as sketches. The attempts to build tension (leaving a critical phone ringing for too long, for example) are ineffective and cliched. It’s not entirely a waste of time, but is somewhat forgettable. (See my 6 Days Twitter review)
James and Dave Franco do a great job of humanising the making of notorious B-movie, The Room, in the strangely good The Disaster Artist. The how and why of The Room is compelling enough, but James Franco is fantastic as Tommy Wiseau, the strange figure who starred in, wrote, and directed it. Worth seeing. (See my The Disaster Artist Twitter review)
It seems like Star Wars: The Last Jedi has divided viewers. Some people seem to think it was amazing and others seem to think it was terrible. I thought it was pretty average. It’s far too long, with a number of aimless b-plots in there to service characters who would’ve been better off left on the benches. The plot holes are glaring from the start, but the universe and main cast are interesting enough to overcome that. It’s fun, but far from the best the series has to offer. (See my Star Wars: The Last Jedi Twitter review)
As Netflix’s biggest bet to date, there’s a lot of interest around Bright. Set in a modern day Los Angeles where fantasy creatures (Orcs, Elves, fairies) have been common-place for thousands of years, Bright follows the first Orc to become a police officer and his partner (Will Smith). At times the world-building is a little expositional, but it helps develop a rich setting around some fun action. It’s flawed, for sure, but is very watchable. (See my Bright Twitter review)
Finally, El Camino Christmas is a low-budget Christmas film, suffering from a so-so script. It’s not TV movie bad, but it’s not great. The most notable thing in it is Tim Allen who, despite having little to work with, delivers a far better performance than was needed. Lightweight, throw-away, okay. (See my El Camino Christmas Twitter review)
The winner for December is The Disaster Artist. It’s not exceptional, but does tell a weird and interesting story.