Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

This was dope - Everything Everywhere All at Once review by AER

Chaotic, original and utterly mad, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once is a triumph in big concept entertainment. In Hollywood where everything is based on an existing IP, I am so happy that a unique film with an utterly fresh storyline has made it to the big screen. Hollywood, give us some more action films like this!!!!

8 out of 10

Overly Hyped Fantasy Comedy - Everything Everywhere All at Once review by GI

This frantic, existential action comedy has had loads of plaudits just about everywhere especially in the US so I was intrigued to see what this was like and hence disappointed that it's a frantic yet laborious and overlong film that seems far too impressed with itself. Most of the problem is that it's so full on with effects and ideas that by about half way through you give up caring about anyone. Michelle Yeoh is Evelyn, a Chinese American woman who co-owns a laundromat with her wimpy husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Juan). Her relationship with her lesbian daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and her father (James Hong) all help her despair of her dull life. Things aren't helped by the attitude of the tax auditor Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis) who is threatening to seize their business. Something triggers the opening of a multi-verse where Evelyn gets to see various alternative lives she could have had and goes on a series of journeys culminating in a confrontation with her angry family. By the end you'' be yawning as the film never seems to end and when it finally does it's a bit disappointing. There's some gags along the way and Curtis is having a ball as the grumpy tax lady. But overall I just didn't get it.

One of the longest 2 & a bit hours of my life, wasted on watching a terrible film - Everything Everywhere All at Once review by TB

The hype was stratospheric. The haul of Oscars enormous. The praise pretty much universal. And then I watched it...

Within the first 5 minutes, this film started to grate on me. It was like watching the most out of control art experiment gone wrong I've ever seen. But it had the effect of being so over the top, that I literally didn't care about anything within it. So much effort had been put into what for me was just a complete and utter mess. Whatever this film was trying to build in terms of worlds, for me it totally failed. And the harder it tried, the worse it became.

As someone who loves Michelle Yeoh and always wants to experience new films and try different things, I went into this fully open and wanting to be blown away. Instead, I sat and waited, and waited, and waited, whilst every possible random thing happened on the screen. None of it connected, none of it worked and I just sat waiting for something to happen to engage me in it and for it to make some kind of sense, or even to be able to enjoy it.

I have no doubt that for many many people, this movie is great. My best friend adored it. But for me, it was just an exercise in getting through it, so I could get to the end, say I'd seen it, then never watch it again. I fully appreciate I'm in a minority, but it was seriously how I felt. Afterwards I watched the 4K remastered film of Heat, and was able to enjoy a proper masterpiece. Amusingly, Heat is half an hour longer than EEAAO, but the time flew by.