Mfbarry-90-773507 Review of The Bad Batch

The Bad Batch (2016)

Director's sophomore effort is definitely a slump

[1/10 · 25 June 2017]

I was really looking forward to the director's follow up to "A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night" but after seeing it I'm incredibly disappointed. There are a lot of things that work here;the direction and pacing of the film are spot on with some nice cinematography and some interesting choices along the way. Likewise, most of the actor's contribute some nice work here including the much lauded cameos by Jim Carey and Giovanni Ribissi and the high profile appearances of Jason Momoa and Keannu Reeves. (None of whom did this film because they "needed a paycheck" by the way but was a chance to work with the Sundance Institute and/or an up and coming director they wanted to support.) Carey was really surprising, it took me a few minutes before I even realized it was him and Momoa shows he's got real acting chops but it was Keannu Reeves who really stole the show for me. He goes against type and really brings the creepy to his role of a "Jim Jones" type cult leader. It would be interesting to see him play an out and out villain in a future role. As for Suki Waterhouse, I honestly have no idea whether she can act or not because the script is so bad, littered with wooden dialogue and bad choices throughout, that it's impossible to tell. The characters consistently make decisions or take actions that make absolutely no sense whatsoever. We are not talking your typical Hollywood tropes either (Going down to the basement alone, saying "I'll be right back," etc...you know the drill)NO, we are talking actions and decisions that are so wrong they are insulting to the viewer. Example, after narrowly escaping from a group of cannibals and finding safety in a small town, our hero, sans two limbs mind you, immediately wanders BACK OUT into the desert right back towards the cannibal community.She then, over the course of the rest of the movie, proceeds to fall for the head cannibal. A man who participated in a barbecue involving her arm and leg!! I kid you not. I actually found this offensive. And I'm not offended easily. I am baffled as to how the director even considered this line of action for the character or even what the point was. I'm totally mystified as to how anyone could have thought this was a good idea. I found myself very irritated with Ms. Waterhouse's character, to the point that I yelled at the screen several times during the film, so annoyed was I at the character's stupid decisions and at the creators themselves for letting this character be such an idiot. It was like a roll back to before Buffy, when women in horror or sci-fi were nothing but mindless eye candy. You'd think Ellen Ripley had never happened. And this during the week "Wonder Woman" came out. So, there you go. I hate to be so harsh but I have no idea what Ms. Amirpour was going for here and in the future suggest she stick to directing, for which she is quite capable. Just do us all a favor and leave the screenplay to someone else.