Stop, Go, or Slow Down: “All the Money in the World”

Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music, Up) rushes to finish All the Money in the World.

There’s a very good reason most directors take their time in between movies. Because the director is in charge of everything from pre-production to post-production, they need time to plan everything out down to the most minute details. But every now and then you’ll see a director like Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List) or Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day) release two movies in the same year, maybe even very different kinds of movies. In the few instances when this happens, the quality of the two movies is on a similar level. So when Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Gladiator) released Alien: Covenant earlier this year and immediately moved on to All the Money in the World for a December 2017 release, many were understandably nervous as the former wasn’t exactly received with a warm welcome. So how does this last-minute movie hold itself together?

Christopher Plummer dominates every single scene in All the Money in the World.

Christopher Plummer stars as J. Paul Getty, the richest man in the history of the world. After publicly refusing to pay any ransom for the release of his grandson (Charlie Plummer), the boy’s mother (Michelle Williams) and one of Getty’s negotiating agents (Mark Wahlberg) race against the clock to rescue her adolescent son before his captor (Romain Duris) tortures and kills him.

Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain, Manchester by the Sea) hears the bad news in All the Money in the World.

There’s a very good reason I highlighted Christopher Plummer and nobody else because most of this cast is kinda just there. Although a few of them do have some standout moments (Michelle Williams and Romain Duris come to mind), the cast mostly exists to advance a plot surrounding Mr. Getty, who is perfectly cast and acted by Plummer. Even though he’s in a supporting role, his presence is felt throughout the entire film, even when you least expect it, and he has the most compelling arc in the film. There are a few great scenes involving a painting Getty buys that, without giving too much away, naturally flow through his arc while advancing the decisions he makes regarding the kidnapping. So much so that even one of his early scenes involving a model minotaur is crucial to the development of the story, even though it seems minute at the time.

From left-to-right: Mark Wahlberg, Ridley Scott, and Christopher Plummer on the set of All the Money in the World.

Credit must be given to Ridley Scott as well. This kind of film isn’t exactly in his wheelhouse, as many of his attempts at similar films result in Body of Lies (2008) or The Counselor (2013). But here he knows how to use his cast, which actors to emphasize in certain scenes, and how to get the most out of his signature scenery shots while moving the pace along. There’s a lot he had to fit into this film and he moved through it all while telling a compelling story in just over two hours. This might even be his fastest-paced film since Black Hawk Down (2001), which was also the last good movie Ridley Scott directed before The Martian (2015). Could this be a sign that Ridley Scott is back on his A-game? I’m willing to believe it as long as he stops making Alien prequels.

Christopher Plummer disapproves of this filter used for All the Money in the World.

If I had to pick a couple weaknesses with this movie, they all have to do with its strengths. For all the impressive cinematography by Dariusz Wolski (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street), the dim grain filter that was held over the lens didn’t do anything for me. I guess Scott and Wolski were trying to create a certain mood, but that filter didn’t contribute to that at all. I saw the movie at night, so all it did was bore me a little, and I feel like a more vibrant color scheme would kept more viewers awake for those late night shows. I also want to reiterate that Christopher Plummer far outshines the rest of the cast, but that’s almost like casting Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood, Lincoln) or Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, Interstellar) in a movie. No matter how good the cast around them is, they’re always going to draw all the attention towards them, and that’s exactly what happens.

Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights, The Departed) face the press in All the Money in the World.

You won’t leave this movie thinking of Michelle Williams or even Ridley Scott, but rather of Christopher Plummer in what is sure to be an Oscar-nominated performance. And honestly, that’s exactly what you should remember. Now aren’t you glad I got you through this entire review without once mentioning Kevin Spacey?

Rating: GO

Stop, Go, or Slow Down: Blade Runner 2049

Harrison Ford (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark) as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049.

Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator), the 1982 sci-fi dystopian film Blade Runner starred Harrison Ford as a futuristic cop called a Blade Runner tasked with hunting down a group of Replicants, androids built like humans but with superhuman strength, but are banned from Earth. The film was a box office bomb and critical mix-up at first, but has since gained a strong cult following since its influence on such films as The Matrix (1999), Akira (1988), and Ghost in the Shell (1995), as well as the many different cuts of the film that have been released over the years (the 2007 Final Cut is the best version to-date).

From left-to-right: Denis Villeneuve, Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford, and Ryan Gosling on the set of Blade Runner 2049.

Because of this, a sequel was inevitable. But instead of Scott taking the director’s chair like in his Alien prequels, the task of helming this long-awaited sequel was given to Denis Villeneuve, who himself has had a mixed bag of films ranging from okay to terrible to great. Today, I am happy to inform you that Villeneuve has found his calling in sci-fi, because the quality of Blade Runner 2049 is much closer to that of Arrival (2016) than Prisoners (2013) or Sicario (2015).

The streets of Los Angeles as shown in Blade Runner 2049.

Obviously set in the year 2049, the film stars Ryan Gosling as K, a Blade Runner who is also a Replicant (not a spoiler, they say it in the first five minutes). After completing a routine job for the LAPD, K finds something that sets him on a path to find missing Blade Runner Deckard, all while trying to get himself out of a conspiracy that could spell the end of civilization as we know it.

Ryan Gosling (Drive, La La Land) as K in Blade Runner 2049.

I’ll say this right now, lower your expectations if you’re going to see this movie because of Harrison Ford because despite getting top billing next to Gosling, he’s not in the film much. In fact, he’s barely in it at all. But when he is onscreen, he’s still as rough and dry as he was in the original film. 90% of the film is owned by Ryan Gosling, and he sells every second of it, seldom losing his cool in even the toughest of firefights. Despite almost never smiling (he is a Replicant, after all), Gosling lets his face do all the acting for him, creating a character truly torn between the real and the artificial, as well as the meaning of both.

Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo) was the director of photography for Blade Runner 2049.

The world-building is still as strong as ever this time around. Roger Deakins’ work here reflects the style of the original while also standing out as its own work of art. The sets show a futuristic Los Angeles that is clearly the same city we saw in Blade Runner‘s vision of 2019 (from what I’m told it’s not that far off from LA in 2017), but 30 years further into the future: dark, gritty, and ravaged by natural and manmade disasters, but still populated with holographic advertisements, flying cars, and light-up umbrellas. The VFX team also did a great job bringing this technology to life, particularly with K’s holographic girlfriend Joi (Ana de Armas). But despite all these technological advancements, the story still visits the same themes as the original (definition of life, meaning of memory, real vs. artificial), while also expanding upon them and integrating them further into the story. Re-visiting a cinematic world from decades past has never been more exciting.

Sylvia Hoeks as Luv in Blade Runner 2049.

My only major criticism about the film is about the villains. Whereas the first film had Rutger Hauer as the elegant yet tragic Roy Batty, this one features Jared Leto as manufacturer Niander Wallace and Sylvia Hoeks as his Replicant assistant Luv. Neither of them are particularly interesting, with Wallace’s sole motivation being increased profit and Luv only obeying every order he gives her. What made Batty so interesting was that he had nothing to lose that wasn’t already destined anyway, but everything to gain should he succeed in extending his lifespan. These villains aren’t bad, they clearly have motivation and desire, but they have little to gain or lose from their efforts, and they’re not especially memorable either. But when Gosling takes up 90% of the film and carries it from start-to-finish, it’s a sacrifice worth having.

A futuristic nightclub in Blade Runner 2049.

Overall, this is both a Villeneuve film and a Blade Runner film, and accomplishes both very well. I would be very excited now if they ever announced another sequel to expand upon this world, even if I have to wait until 2052 to see it.

Rating: GO