Hotel Artemis

As our society becomes more violent and volatile, we see more films that reflect that impact. Apocalyptic films are usually the best form in which to emulate this impact--"The Omega Man", "Fahrenheit 451", "District 9", "9", "The Book of Eli", "Mad Max", the very recent "Ready Player One",etc. So when I saw my first trailer of "Hotel Artemis", it was no surprise that Hollywood continued to create yet another grim look at our future.

Set in riot-torn, near future--June 21st 2028 Los Angeles, this is an original, high-octane action-thriller with Jodie Foster as The Nurse, who runs a secret, members only hospital called Hotel Artemis for criminals. There are two policies that anyone must adhere to while in Artemis: trust and following rules. The rules? No cops. No guns. No killing the other patients.

We enter this 'hospital' through two criminals, Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown) and his brother, Honolulu (Brian Tyree Henry), that survive a bank robbery gone awry. So when they enter Hotel Artemis, the Nurse and her orderly, Everest (Dave Bautista) assist in keeping them alive. Unfortunately, from here we meet a colorful array of other patients including Nice (Sofia Boutella), Acapulco (Charlie Day) and eventually Niagra (Jeff Goldblum) to add to the fray. Will anyone survive this night or is the riots outside easier to handle?

Others to round out the cast are Jenny Slate as Morgan, Zachary Quinto as Crosby Franklin, Kenneth Choi as Buke, Josh Tillman as P-22 and Evan Jones as Trojan Nash.

This was surprisingly directed well by virtual newcomer in the director's chair, Drew Pearce (Video shorts). Even though this filmmaker has an impressive amount of shorts to his resume which is valuable experience, he simply soared in getting his actors to convey that gritty, hard, desperate feel to their characters, especially Foster. Her character absolutely stole the show. Considering his talent, it is no surprise that he will be directing the next installment of Sherlock Holmes appropriately titled "Sherlock Holmes 3" which is pre-production for a 2020 release. This was also written by Pearce ("No Heroics" (TV movie) '09, "Iron Man 3" '13) plus video shorts, video games and TV. Certainly writing is where Pearce has his experience, but I believe directing is where he's most comfortable, if this film is any indication. This film is definitely original and edgy, but it does play out with a degree of predictability with a bit of jumpiness involved, but the way he makes this script move and definitely has that knack of keeping his audience on the edge of their seats is something to behold. This writer is slick, fast, and riveting.

Given more projects to this filmmaker will only make him better with each film, whether it be in the directing or the writing realm. It has flaws, but this is truly worthy of a watch at the multiplex just to experience the many odd, eclectic characters that unfold before its audience.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                     Rated: R                                        93mins.