The amount of unprecedented buzz this new release was getting was even attracting the attention of the general cinema-goers. Achieving that is something quite rare, and is enough to convince people to at least experience this whether they end up liking it or not.
When I found that the directors were Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, I was expecting something pretty wacky. This is due to the fact that they made Swiss Army Man a.k.a. The Farting Corpse Movie. There was very little other information I was aware of going into seeing this. But I felt prepared for something we're not used to seeing.
It's honestly hard to know what to say about this film to have you properly prepared for what you are going to see. Even if I did spoil it, you would think I had gone mentally insane.
A lot of people are calling it 'The Matrix meets Sliding Doors'. While I do agree with that, there is so much more to it then that. I would also add comparisons to Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy in there as well. There are moments in its style that I would compare with Michel Gondry, it has absurdity of a Stephen Chow feature or a Monty Python sketch and the editing style is close to Edgar Wright.
But no matter how quirky, imaginative, ridiculous and ludicrous the film gets, it manages to explain it in a way that makes sense for the film it is in, stays in context and you somehow accept it and be on board with it. I was never confused and that alone makes this film an absolute triumph.
I love that while there is a multi-layered and mind-bending concept happening in front of us, the story remains grounded with real life themes being covered such as coming of age, family and acceptance of change.
It manages to stick with its core themes that the audience can relate to. That for me made it more impressive to still not be afraid to go back to what it is trying to say instead going overboard with its concept.
The cast do a great job of giving us some memorable characters to go with this ambitious story. Michelle Yeoh remains the powerhouse you all expect from her. She is a terrific lead and has plenty of charisma to make it easy for you to root for her.
Stephanie Hsu was a great stand out also. Playing multiple characters is never easy. But she made you believe her characters were completely different people. From being a frustrated teenager to a intimidating antagonist, Hsu did a wonderful job with both.
Jamie Lee Curtis is clearly having a blast with her character. It's something out of her comfort zone and I can see this performance pleasing a lot of people. It reminded me of Hugo Weaving in Cloud Atlas when he played the closest thing to Nurse Ratchet.
It was great seeing Ke Huy Quan get back into acting and you can tell he still loves doing this despite taking a long time out since his appearances in The Goonies and Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. I hope this gets a second career out of him.
Another Asian acting legend is in this, in the form of James Hong. Despite being in over 100 films and now in his 90's, Hong has not lost a step and still pulled off another strong performance.
While it is certainly an impressive and highly imaginative piece of work, not everything stuck for me. Towards the end of the second act, there was a sequence that definitely over stayed its welcome. While most of it was high quality craziness, I was thinking we should be moving on by the end of it.
If I was being nit picky, I would also say the emotional part of the third act didn't quite get the impact out of me the film was going for. Don't get me wrong, I was impressed by that part. But I know it will work better with others.
But despite that moment of drag, this was a very memorable viewing experience that we all need to see for ourselves whether we end up liking or not. It is also one you will not forget anytime soon. Yes it is challenging, but it is worth the challenge. It reminded me of when I watched Cloud Atlas in cinemas as I felt I could not categorise it in one particular genre as it has so much. There is action, adventure, thrills, comedy, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, drama and even a bit of romance.
This is the film for all of those doubters that still believe that there are no original films being made these days. If you still feel that way, you are and always have been so so wrong. There is always some cool original stuff being made. You just need to know where to look, take a chance and discover it for yourself. This couldn't be anymore original if it tried.
There is so much to like and appreciate about the making of this. The concept sounds big. But the budget brings it down to a much more fun level without the need for vast amounts of CGI. It makes up for it in its action sequences, amazing editing and hilarious comedy. See it for yourself. There is nothing like it.
Rating: 8/10
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