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HBO Max Movie Amsterdam Review

David O. Russell’s Amsterdam certainly is darn brutal to its viewers for a movie that purports to be about the power of compassion. It is a grind of epic proportions that completely wastes the abilities of all those involved, running at a grueling two and a half hours with a star-studded yet drowsy ensemble of generally good actors. It is a cinematic drought of enjoyment that is completely devoid of ingenuity and without any sense of direction. The only thing that makes it interesting is how perplexing an artifact it still is. Although it might not be the year’s worst film, it is undoubtedly the most boring.

What Is Amsterdam About? And Who Is The Main Cast?

Amsterdam assembles an Avengers-caliber cast by grabbing the majority of Hollywood’s top actors. Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington portray the main protagonists. A doctor, a nurse, and a lawyer make up the three major protagonists in this once-in-a-lifetime tale. Establishing what it is truly about is both simple given its straightforward ideas. And challenging given how needlessly complicated it is. Fundamentally, it tells the story of a group of friends who must band together to unravel the mystery of the 1930s murder and clear their identities. The Business Plot, a political plot that occurred in the 1930s, served as the basis for this movie. It is a fascinating narrative in and of itself that might have made for an exciting, absurd movie.

Review:

All along, Amsterdam has a dull, one-note vibe. Despite being a comedy, Russell’s language falls short of its intended humor and snappiness. The attempts at lighter humor fall flat and never elicit the kind of wild laughter that a film like this should. However, this is more of a movie where you recognize characters from other better movies than one where you become emotionally immersed in the plot and characters. To keep this film alive with talent, Russell enlists the help of Anya Taylor-Joy, Michael Shannon, Zoe Saldana, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, and even Taylor Swift. He doesn’t appear to be employing their abilities, though; instead, it appears that he is depending on your understanding of them. Some of these actors, portray the blandest characters with the same speech patterns, bringing little to the movie other than their celebrity power.

Famous actors arrive one by one to deliver a few lines. Most of which are spoken without much emotion, and then they depart. Due to the lack of material given to these performers to work with, they don’t portray compelling characters, and a large portion of the movie feels generic. Instead, Russell drags everyone into a weirdly uninteresting mystery that barely makes use of its intriguing premise. The idea of a motley crew seeking to clear their identities is amusing, but the execution lacks fun and enjoyment. Amsterdam has great promise, but it is wasted by how identically each character speaks and behaves.