I didn’t get peoples issue with Dakota Johnson until this movie. Surrounded by everyone giving their best and every one of her scenes was near identically flat.
That being said, there is a lot to like here. It is an enjoyable noir film with a large pool of people feeling out themes of redemption. Jon Hamm and Cynthia Erivo deserve special praise for carrying out their roles.
The twists aren’t so twisty, overly telegraphed to the point of being easy to see. However, the movie stays afloat above its necessity for subterfuge with careful direction and captivating atmosphere.
A house/hospital full of stuck people, literally and figuratively, makes a strong setting.
It is funny that you can walk away from the movie thinking Poirot gives some credence to mysticism or that you think he gives zero and everything can be explained. It makes for a little extra engagement.
I have a real soft spot for these movies. Even flawed, Hercule Poirot and Branagh are an attractive pair.
It felt odd for the movie to not have Lisa Eilbacher as Jenny in some capacity. I think it would have worked better if Axel stayed with her while in town rather than the whole shakily done house acquisition thing that didn’t really deliver the laughs.
II Has sometimes transcends parts of the original, but it has trouble maintaining any momentum it gets. The dialogue gets sloppy, with characters repeating information the others would already know. The villain has an actual motivation but it is not leaned into so instead of Casino Royal we get mustache twirly.
Rosewood is fun to see escalate but the last ten minutes of the movie goes too hard and the action is very sloppy. It is really the ending that shaves off another half star. Sloppy action can be said for most of the movie though, it really is the whole way the finale was written. Too quick, too little, and too much somehow all at once.
Having said all that, I don’t regret watching the movie. I think there is some strong moments in the earlier half.
A classic movie for a lot of reasons. Eddie is great and so are all of the supporting cast, even down the smaller roles that elevate the film. The soundtrack is rightfully iconic. A lot of tropes keep the story very basic, but it dances around it in an enjoyable way.
There are some lulls in the movement though and not every scene is timed well, but overall it is a lot of fun.
It is like a lot of Liman movies. It trades sense often for flash but it isn’t bad at doing it. When I think of dumb-but-fun-flicks, this is what I want. It beats sorting past 100 action hero flicks at a Redbox. Wow, Redbox. Are those still around?
I’m torn because I really loved some aspects but some liberties felt out of place. Starting there, I think the romance plot and the mustache twirling officer felt a bit hamfisted. To not go into spoilers, I will just say this reaches a peak at the end of the film.
That being said, the cast did wonderful and there was some really good writing. I also felt mixing in direct-life clips was handled well and that is not easy to do.
I ended up peaking the wiki page for this one after and I found a lot of the parts I had trouble with were the parts adjusted to fit a Hollywood movie. Kinda a shame because the movie is fantastic in so many ways. Obviously there was a way to do these things but as is I think they felt too from-the-script-to-the-screen. It didn’t feel natural.
Don’t let what I am saying deter you though. I feel I am being a bit picky and I will probably wish I had given another half-star later.
This sequel does not play as well as its predecessor. Characters act against their own interests and common sense too often and a lot of suspense is missing that was there first the first film.
Nothing is mysterious anymore and the delivered twists are not delivered in any way that sticks the landing. If anything it is all a bit too mustache twirly — not a good counter to the Blind Man who’s crimes we know and feel much more grounded.
Now I am going to turn heel a little here and disagree with people saying the whole idea of having the Blind Man be a sorta-protagonistish-person is a bad one. I just think making the audience root for a bad guy is hard, and the film did not really try to do that. Sitting with the bad a little more, less attempts at action and twists, less environments to move the movie through, and some self awareness. Probably with a different lead character and having Lang still as this ominous figure, but instead stepping between a situation and getting involved. A lot less screen time would have kept some of the mystery and probably bothered less people.
Categories 5/5, Crime, Drama, Movie and Series Reviews, Thriller 
A movie you peel back again and again.