Aaron's Thoughts
Really mixed. So much of this just felt flat out silly on a first watch. On one hand you have the master of the visual image himself working his magic & on the other hand you have goofy story beat after goofy story beat.
This contradiction exists in many elements throughout the film even down to the characters. Colin Firth’s cartoonish villain makes the stakes seem far too low & as much as I love Josh O’Connor, I always felt at arms length from his character. Emily Blunt, on the other hand, is easily the most effective part of the film (I almost wish the whole film could have centered around her). Nice to see that we finally got her back in a real leading lady role!
I think I ultimately just don’t have as much faith in humanity as Spielberg does. Maybe that’s the cynic in me? Maybe that’s the generational divide? Either way, I just wish that there was actually more grappling with what this would mean for the world. It’s clear that Spielberg thinks that this would magically end wars and make us all get along again, but Koepp’s screenplay does nothing to really unpack or expand upon that.
Unfortunately, I’d be more interested in what happens 30 minutes after the credits roll than I ever was in the journey that it took to get there.
