Three criminals are hired to steal a mysterious envelope, but when
things go south, the criminals must find out who hired them and why. CRIME/DRAMA
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No Sudden Move (2021)Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Ed Solomon Starring Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Brendan Fraser, Julia Fox, Ray Liotta, Amy Seimetz, Kieran Culkin, Jon Hamm, Noah Jupe, Frankie Shaw, Bill Duke, Matt Damon |
Steven Soderbergh's track record speaks for itself, at least in my experience. I enjoyed the Ocean's Trilogy as well as Logan Lucky. The guy has a penchant for uniquely flavored heist films. I'm not sure what went wrong with No Sudden Move. It's not a bad movie by any stretch, but it is a confusing mess that wastes an incredible, dedicated cast. Bonus points for finally seeing Brendan Fraser in something mainstream again. I've missed him. This film wants to be a heist thriller, a gangster film, a Guy Ritchie-esque caper, and a biopic on the mid-twentieth century auto industry all at the same time. Because of that, nothing lands.
Curt Goynes (Cheadle) and Ronald Russo (Del Toro) are two hired guns who are brought together for a simple babysitting job, along with hothead Charley (Culkin). When the job goes south, their employer (Fraser) orders them killed, as well as the family they're watching. But Curt has a change of heart, and kills Charley instead. Now, he and Ronald are on the run from a number of parties who all want the contents of an envelope they were supposed to steal. Things get pretty convoluted right around here, and it becomes impossible to count all the betrayals, double-crosses, and bamboozles that occur. I can't fault the cast, though. Everyone performs admirably. The fault lies with the script. Less is always more, I've found. The more confusing things become, the harder it is to enjoy. No Sudden Move is not Soderbergh's epic return to the heist film that we thought it was going to be. Instead, it's a maze with no exit. Plus, Soderbergh does this weird fish-eye thing with the camera that just screws with the focus. Style over substance. Never a good sign. Here's hoping his next one is a bit tighter. |
It seems like very few filmmakers who openly reject the Hollywood system and style of filmmaking go on to have hugely successful careers while being one of the most critically acclaimed directors working. Yet here we are with Steven Soderbergh. Whereas other directors would have crumbled or succumbed to the Hollywood system eventually, he has only achieved more success and praise with each passing film. This has led to him being able to create his own unique style with his films while constantly working with some of the best actors working today. A trend which has continued to his latest, No Sudden Move. Another film of his with his own style and stacked cast which has helped lead to more of that aforementioned critical acclaim.
There’s a reason I started with talking about the acclaim attached with Steven Soderbergh. This is because, get ready folks, I’m one of the few who have yet to enjoy any of his films. Yet, I keep trying with every new movie in the hope I will enjoy it. And, unfortunately, this isn’t that movie. The film actually started out interesting enough. Thanks to a stellar cast and good setup, I was interested in the initial heist and promise of chaos once things went wrong. Problem is, the film never does a good job of showing the stakes of what just went wrong and, therefore, lost my interest. Something which never came back as the runtime progressed. It didn’t help I found the ending to be incredibly lackluster. Now, maybe the style gave me something to enjoy, at the very least. Also, a big, fat no. Soderbergh does this weird thing with the camera where everything comes in and out of focus whenever the camera pans over as a character is moving which just felt incredibly off putting to me. I didn’t like the weird camera effects in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and I didn’t like it here. Soderbergh is just not a director for me apparently. His style doesn’t ever work for me, and his storytelling just bores me usually. I’m sure there’s a film of his I haven’t seen yet that I might just like. But this isn’t it. I just lost interest as the runtime progressed and hated the weird camera effect. One day Soderbergh. One day. |