a HOTEL ARTEMIS musing

Writer of IRON MAN 3, Drew Pearce, makes his directorial debut with HOTEL ARTEMIS, an ensemble movie in the JOHN WICK vein. The Artemis is not only a decrepit hotel in Downtown LA in 2028, but a sanctuary hospital only for wealthy members, mainly criminals. The Nurse (Jodie Foster), with the assistance of Everest (Dave Bautista), run the hospital. Over the course of “just another Wednesday” and in the midst of the biggest riot in LA history, the lives of the guests of Hotel Artemis entangle as the night wears on.

The other guests, played by a wonderful Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day and Brian Tyree Henry, do a solid job with what they’re given. It’s a lot of smart-ass dialogue that started to get annoying with all the callbacks to previous lines. Bautista’s dialogue was cringeworthy, but at least he has the charisma to deliver it with some panache. Jeff Goldblum and Zachary Quinto also appear in predictably weird scenes, but Goldblum always has a bizarre charm to him that makes those scenes hard to dislike. Jodie Foster gets the main meat of the character beats, and it’s plain to see why she was attracted to this project, since she is extremely picky with her roles nowadays, this being her first movie role in 5 years.

HOTEL ARTEMIS tries to sell itself as more slick than it is, as it juggles too many balls in the air to make for a fully satisfying movie. If the tension the movie builds and good will the stacked cast brings had all paid off in a more fun, outrageous climax, it could have been a harmless time in the theater. It builds the world well (and leaves room open for a sequel), but it’s disappointing to see the potential in what could have been a truly explosive movie.

RATING: WHY DID I WATCH THIS?

(Refer to my rating system HERE!)