'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (2022)

Opening thoughts: Other than wanting to see as many 2022 films as possible and that it scored big at the Oscars, my main reason for watching 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' was the concept. Absolutely loved how ambitious and original it was, have not heard or seen anything like it, and have always admired any film, production, show that tries to be ambitious and original regardless of its execution. Was really hoping that it would make the most of the concept and not waste it.

Have seen a lot of potential wastes and films that don't do enough with their promise or execute it patchily and with a concept this good this reviewer was hoping this would not be one of those. 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' fortunately lived up to the hype and didn't waste the concept at all. If anything, it was the complete opposite in that it relished and had great fun with it. It is a strong example of ambition and uniqueness done (extremely) well, done in an imaginative and entertaining way. While not quite perfect, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' to me is wonderful and one of the year's best films, pretty much all its awards deserved.

Bad things: Starting with what wasn't quite right, the ending did feel a little too over-extended (a three or four endings in one) and muddled, as well as for my tastes on the earnest side.

Also felt that occasionally the humour went a little too far on the immaturity, which did jar for a film that for most of its length is anything but.

Good things: There is so much that is done absolutely brilliantly. Michelle Yeoh is truly captivating and was clearly in her element. Ke Hay Quan and Stephanie Hau bring both zaniness and dignity to their roles, and while Jamie Lee Curtis' Oscar win was very polarising she looked as though she was having a lot of fun too. The film is deftly and imaginatively directed, all the elements beautifully balanced.

Furthermore, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' is an exceptionally well made film. It is beautifully and stylishly shot and the editing has an inventively dizzying quality that is truly dazzling. It never came over as too self indulgent or gimmicky, and never made me uncomfortable or confused (the opposite of 'Elvis'). The music is haunting.

Other than the humour not always working, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' contains some of the year's best writing. The humour a vast majority of the time is deliciously absurdist and witty and the more dramatic parts pack a poignant emotional punch. The film is also one of the finest examples in recent memory of doing exposition right, exposition can risk being too talky or over-explanatory but both of those traps manage to be avoided here and the character development has insight and depth. The story is told with a good deal of energy while not feeling rushed, and balances entertainment value and emotion beautifully. The combat is superbly and uncompromisingly choreographed and stylishly shot, with the editing also being at its cleverest. The character dynamics are beautifully explored and have a good deal of heart and relatability, the multi-universe scenes having real imagination while not being incoherent and the opening really pulled me in.

Closing thoughts: In summary, wonderful and a 2022 highlight.

9/10.

If you take drugs for the first time and imagined Jackie Chan was a female Dr. Strange in another universe this would be it. And the synopsis is basically an Asian woman trying to do her taxes. I thought the third act of the movie felt a little stretched out but otherwise I think it's the best movie I've seen all year because I haven't laughed this much in any recent one. From the short time I spent in China, it's also an accurate and hilarious view of Chinese parents 'cause they really do be like that. I can't recommend it enough, it's so chaotic and in the middle of all that managed to be heartfelt too. I thought it was gonna be a Dr Strange wannabe but it's unique on it's own and I'm glad it was released earlier so that people don't compare them. It was just four people (strangers) in the cinema, we were laughing our asses off and it made me sad because everyone deserves to see this. At a time when remakes and reboots are common place it's nice to have something like this, a breath of fresh air.

I have trouble turning off my brain. Anxieties, worries, mundane to-dos, even positive things, sometimes feel like they're swirling around in a chaotic funnel cloud and I would like nothing more than to sit in physical and mental silence.

"Everything Everywhere All At Once" felt like the inside of my head. In a world of non-stop, 24/7 news, most of it bad, how is a person like me, who has trouble filtering out things that affect me directly from all of the other things that are just out there happening in general and over which I have no control, supposed to cope?

One answer is to decide that nothing matters anyway and give up caring. But that means deciding that my wife doesn't matter. And that my kids don't matter. And that art, and nature, and things that bring joy to my life, don't matter.

Another way is to decide that some things, ok maybe most things, don't matter, but that there are things that do, and those are the things that make it all worth it. I get to decide what those things are.

The first approach is nihilistic. The second approach is empowering. This film explores both approaches, and I was a sobbing mess at the end.

I will say there were times that I was a bit exhausted by this movie. It throws a lot on the screen and at the viewer, and occasionally it can't keep up with its ambitions. But this was mostly a home run.

Michell Yeoh does terrific work in this, but the MVP is Ke Huy Quan (Short Round from the "Indiana Jones" movies).

Grade: A.