The name of the film is a misnomer - before watching I thought the premise was for the dead to have to defend their lives, and have all their wrongs looked at. However, Brooks decided to narrowly focus on just decisions made in fear. And thus, trivialises the whole concept of the afterlife (for those who believe in it). All one has to do is not show fear. Serial killers, rapists, etc., can pass this trial in the afterlife as long as they didn't live in fear. If you are a moral person, but have been riddled with anxiety or fear, you will fail this trial. I understand it's a comedy and Brooks simplified it for this reason as it would be harder to have the more complex parts of the human psyche and behaviour scrutinised in a comedy.
I found the film slow, and lacking in outright humour. The premise of, and circumstances in, Judgment City are amusing, but not laugh-out-loud funny. I don't recall laughing at all when watching the film, I was just gently amused the whole way through.
The premise hinges on the falsehood of only using a percentage of one's brain - which is fine for a comedic tool to not be taken seriously, but it's completely false. Comedy that is rooted in truth is just as funny, if not funnier, than comedy based on falsehoods.
The character development was pretty shallow, as we got to see nothing of his life before he died, and the pieces we see during his trial are narrowly focused on examples of fear, that we can't say what type of person he is. And his growth of finding love for the first time falls flat as we knew nothing of his previous romantic relationships.
Positives for me were the angelic sets and lighting, made you feel like it wasn't earthly - which saved the rating overall.
Worth a watch if you like Brooks, but for me Brooks never makes groundbreaking films, he just makes films with very different premises.
I found the film slow, and lacking in outright humour. The premise of, and circumstances in, Judgment City are amusing, but not laugh-out-loud funny. I don't recall laughing at all when watching the film, I was just gently amused the whole way through.
The premise hinges on the falsehood of only using a percentage of one's brain - which is fine for a comedic tool to not be taken seriously, but it's completely false. Comedy that is rooted in truth is just as funny, if not funnier, than comedy based on falsehoods.
The character development was pretty shallow, as we got to see nothing of his life before he died, and the pieces we see during his trial are narrowly focused on examples of fear, that we can't say what type of person he is. And his growth of finding love for the first time falls flat as we knew nothing of his previous romantic relationships.
Positives for me were the angelic sets and lighting, made you feel like it wasn't earthly - which saved the rating overall.
Worth a watch if you like Brooks, but for me Brooks never makes groundbreaking films, he just makes films with very different premises.