Amsterdam
Year: 2022
Rating: R
Length: 134 minutes / 2.23 hours
Ever since I saw Silver Linings Playbook (2012), it convinced me that David O. Russell’s films were good. When American Hustle (2013) and Joy (2015) didn’t quite live up to my expectations, I figured it was a fluke. They were OK movies, just not to the caliber I had expected. I was cautiously optimistic about Amsterdam (2022) since it advertised such an all-star cast. Then again, the other movies also had all-star casts as well. Let’s just say that this movie was probably my third strike against seeing any more David O. Russell films.
Now, don’t get me wrong—the acting in Amsterdam was great. These interesting characters were fun to watch, and it’s clear that Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington are all talented actors (along with the many other actors involved, which would take too much space to list them all). The angle of injured military veterans was another element that I hadn’t seen in a lot of movies, so that was another aspect of this film that I thought gave it merit. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Amsterdam is its plot.
I don’t mind non-linear storytelling, but usually—when a director uses this method—it’s clear what the plot is about. It took way too long in this movie to get to the point. I was watching it and wondering to myself, “What is this movie even about?” all the way until the start of the third act. Sure, trying to play the mystery angle to obfuscate why these characters are involved can work for a whodunnit, but this is not one of those movies. When everything came together in the end, it was a satisfying ending—it just took way too long to make any sense prior to that point.
An all-star cast in a less-than-stellar plot, I give Amsterdam 3.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
