The film struggles with some of the writing leaning into trying to be THE gay romcom for ALL gay people. The satirising of gay hisotry and culture clash with the more sentimental and unrealistic moments (namely the cliche romcom ending). There’s a gay history museum subplot that feels too ‘important’ and never fully lands. Though the gay trauma coaster, as silly as it is, did make me laugh.
It works best as a story of two men falling in love…
Some fun sight and animation gags and film industry skewering jokes are let down by the plot: the mystery is hardly a mystery, and coupled with unengaging characters and arcs you can see a mile away. The film also felt the need to explain every single joke which ruined any humour the film could build.
They had no real chemistry for the start but I did start to believe in it a bit, and then you’re reminded of all the political fluff that surrounds the film and it irks you. Wooden dialogue is present and the film falls fairly flat emotionally, but watchable and not completely without charm and sweet moments.
Also I think a Prince dating a left-wing political statesman would be more damaging constitutionally than being gay would yet the film doesn’t acknowledge that.
Idk why we need another modern Snow White after this. This gives Snow White stuff to do, the dwarves are bandits and there's a bollywood dance party ending. What else do we need?
The scene where Florence Pugh, naked in the middle of sex, tells him to translate a book in Sanskrit and Oppenheimer does and it just so happens 'i am death destroyer of worlds' or something silly is the worst scene I've seen in a while. I liked most of the rest of it though.
I don’t think I’ve been this thrilled by a superhero film since Days of Future Past
This was one of my most anticipated movies of ever since it arrived. I wasn’t disappointed exactly— I assumed it could go like this. Fun, goofy, emotional but doing too much for its run time. Some of the contrivances of the first two acts (for example, locking away an accused murderer in a prison with no guards inside the cell room) give way to larger ones (a character accuses someone of being evil, the third act happens and an evil…
An interesting and fascinating experience--- the last third felt a little bitty and disconnected between the different times periods, compared to the more fascinating first half, and I wanted to be pulled back into the picture emotionally after becoming distant from the picture after being emotionally invested at the start. Still wonderfully acted and a thoughtful portrait of an adoptee reconnecting with family she never knew-- or not, and how it does or doesn't affect the sense of identity and self.
I did enjoy it— full of colour, gorgeous cinematography and fun performances, buts let down by a script that lacks propulsion. The story is there, but the film languishes for an hour with fairly uninteresting character meet ups. During the last hour it picks up but the entire film can’t help but feel baggy. If it got to the mystery a little quicker, shave off ten minutes and restructure it a little so it didn’t feel as much of an info dump it may have been a stronger movie.