[Movie Review] Hotel Artemis (2018)

Posted on June 11, 2018 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Plot Summary: Set in riot-torn, near-future Los Angeles, 'Hotel Artemis' follows the Nurse, who runs a secret, members-only emergency room for criminals.

Director: Drew Pearce

Writer: Drew Pearce

Runtime: 1h 33min

Main Cast:

Jodie Foster as The Nurse
Sterling K. Brown as Waikiki
Sofia Boutella as Nice
Jeff Goldblum as Niagara
Brian Tyree Henry as Honolulu
Jenny Slate as Morgan
Zachary Quinto as Crosby Franklin
Charlie Day as Acapulco
Dave Bautista as Everest
Kenneth Choi as Buke

Review by: Chris F

Late 90s to early 2000s offered some of the best middle of the road, yet insanely enjoyable films. You know the ones, the ones you recognize as not being amazing, but are great in their own right. Your Face/offs, your Transporters. Movies that offer something different and fun in comparison to the safe and the usual. Films that honor characterization and build a unique world. Sometimes these films are wasted opportunities, offering a world too big for their budget, but others, others are able to use their style and substance to move them beyond the budget with strong characters and setting. Hotel Artemis almost hits that latter peak, a fun ride that lacks a bit of payoff for all of the unique ideas. Personal favorites Sterling K. Brown and Brian Tyree Henry play bank robbers looking for help after a heist gone bad, enter Hotel Artemis, an old medical bay for the criminal element of Los Angeles. Run by an aging Jodie Foster as The Nurse the Hotel is shrouded mystery and secrecy. Using water riots as a backdrop, the 2 brothers hope to survive after things get increasingly worse at the Hotel Artemis.

What I Liked:

I’m a sucker for good character work and this movie has some of my favorite character actors working HARD. Sterling K. Brown plays Waikiki, a bank robbery with a storied history, a character with depth that goes beyond what is shown on screen. His mannerisms and calculated line reading embody everything good about this film. Confident in the script and his character, Brown glides through his scene capturing your attention throughout. How he interacts with all of the many characters say more about him than any scene of exposition could possibly give. Same goes for the rest of the stellar, underrated cast. Though not super unique characters; archetypes such sexy assassin, the cool mob boss, etc don’t offer too much in terms of originality, but having them played by actors like Jeff Goldblum, Sofia Boutella, and Charlie Day elevate them to more interesting levels. The script offers a couple of unique ways to have this cast bounce off of each other and it’s a blast to watch. Some of the movies best scenes are not action heavy at all, just some really good dialogue between great actors having fun with interesting characters. This is not even mentioning David Bautista who is continuing his run as being top 10 supporting actors in these type of movies, he is only getting better adding nuance to the usual Big Guy character.

The world and setting of Hotel Artemis are striking in not just style but substance. News reports and a very short intro show us a California crushed by poverty and lack of water, leading to not only riots but the heist that opens up the film. Using a 90s era version of the future, the world is an interesting visual mix of Robocop with a bit of cyberpunk with the neon colors and technology. This is a well lived in world that exists and has a style all its own. The technology on display hints at a future not too far from the one we live in now, yet still astonishes in its practicability. That balance makes this movie something really relate-able and refreshing. Again much like the dialogue, the setting and environment hint at a very interesting criminal underworld and history, much like John Wick, the seedy world of crime and assassinations of Hotel Artemis is somewhere worth revisiting.

For a movie that takes place primarily in a single location, the pacing is perfect. Much of the plot moves through conversations between great characters in the various rooms of the Artemis. The dialogue is snappy and is edited perfectly where none of these scenes felt unnecessary of overly expository. Hint at an older relationship with some backstory and make a reveal to move the story forward, nice and clean. Runtime is about 90 minutes which is PERFECT. Every character gets a moment or 2 to show off exactly who they are and what they are about, clear motivations and a very helpful plot makes things move and feel like they never slow down.

What I Didn’t Like:

As good as all of the dialogue is, the action and some of the story falter going into the 3rd act. Some characters seem too much for the movie to handle and can be sloppily handled in comparisons to others. Jodie Foster’s The Nurse gets the majority of the background, but her character just isn’t that interesting. You would think the person that runs Hotel Artemis would be a bit more interesting than the plot we eventually get for her. Sterling Brown’s character is far and beyond the most interesting which says a lot considering Jeff Goldblum is playing a mob boss. That weird balance issue is something that shows up a lot as the film gets towards its conclusion. It also doesn’t help that many of the fight scenes are littered with odd edits that hint at the crew stretching their budget thin. Only one of the few action scenes actually excites with the others looking tame or just being plain boring and mediocre.

8/10

Summary

Hotel Artemis is a refreshing throwback to the days of high concepts, talented people, and mediocre budgets, Hotel Artemis knows exactly what it is and relishes in its tone and style. A showcase of some of my favorite actors, this film is a blast of cool characters, stylistic visuals, and an interesting setting that elevates it beyond many of its contemporaries. The perfect midnight feature, a great movie with wings and beer, Artemis is a cult classic waiting to happen. Here’s hoping it gets a sequel or something with the characters, I hope to revisit this strange interesting world.

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