Amsterdam 2022

David O. Russell's first film in many years is very frustrating. It was already clear from the trailers that the large cast, peppered with many well-known names, was supposed to be the selling point of "Amsterdam". And that is precisely the film's major flaw. There are simply far too many characters who are frequently given little to do. Every time a new actor first appears, the camera lingers on their face forever. This can be extremely uncomfortable at times. Nobody in the cast even comes close to bringing their A-game. Of the main trio, I mostly liked Christian Bale's Burt. Meanwhile, Margot Robbie is in real danger of being typecast. And Harold, played by John David Washington, is a bore.

I also have little positive to say about the plot. Most importantly, it is totally convoluted. The majority of the film is made up of sequences with multiple people standing or sitting in a room. And there is a lot of talking. Every single one of those conversations overstayed its welcome. These scenes are accompanied by a score that is nothing more than background noise. To avoid being so damn boring, the story should have been greatly streamlined.

The only positive aspects are the solid cinematography, excellent costume design, and overall production values. Still, the absurdly high $80 million budget for this type of film can only be explained by the massive cast. There are no expensive set pieces or, at the very least, elaborate scenes. It is stated at the beginning of the film that "a lot of this really happened." I have no doubts about that, because nothing noteworthy occurs in "Amsterdam"—at least not in the movie.

I gave it a 9. The satire was spot on and pulling together current issues to the early 1930's is just fantastically done. I believe this movie is going to be one of those cult classics, underrated at first but recognized as a classic work eventually.

The low ratings seem to come from people that don't understand satire and the movie would fly over their heads. The script is laced with references to the early 1930's fascist movement in the USA, and they are just dropped into the story so nonchalantly unless you know US history between WWI and WWII, particularly the efforts by the American Bund (US Nazis), most of the references would be missed. For example, the giant George Washington portrait is a direct snub to the American Bund. There were 32 Americans arrested for espionage, largest in American history, for trying to establish a dictatorship. There were rumors that they approached at least two generals. One semi portrayed here fantastically by DeNiro. The attempt to appeal to veterans, hoping they would turn on their Oath to the Constitution, happened also. Honestly, just writing this I want to watch again to be able to point out so many of the references that were placed into the story. Just a fantastic script.

The low ratings are most likely because it is satire. Satire usually flies over the heads of dumber people and we seem to be at a juncture where idiots reign supreme. But it's extremely well acted and directed. I felt they did a wonderful job of capturing the 1930's feel in the way it was written, acted and directed. I thought the camera positioning could've been a bit more Orsen Welles style in a few scenes. But just fantastic overall.

Set between world wars, Amsterdam chases a trio of unlikely misfits who uncover a conspiracy to replace FDR with a fascist-friendly puppet. As the three sleuths are also old friends with a complicated history and unfinished personal business, we spend nearly as much time exploring their past as we do probing the contemporary plot. That’s where the famously free-spirited capital city comes in. Having met in a Dutch military hospital during WWI, grown restless together and summarily escaped, they proceeded to paint the town red until responsibility drew them back home to America and life got in the way.

Given the wealth of potential flavor in the mix, it’s downright shocking that this makes for such dull cinema. Secret Nazi societies, mentally-unhinged aristocrats and purveyors of postwar facial prosthetics? Speakeasies and sterilization clinics and posh, theatrical labor rallies? Christian Bale, Robert De Niro and Margot Robbie are here! Taylor Swift gets pushed under a bus! This thing is dying to be all loose and quirky and shocking, trying its hardest to mimic the Coen Brothers, but evidently it took the wrong notes and learned the wrong lessons from that filmography. Like peering through the window of a Ripley’s Believe-it Or Not, then visiting a doctor’s waiting room instead.

This is the weirdest, and longest, episode of Columbo I've ever seen.

That's who Christian Bale is playing, right?

It's fine in its way, but there's too much going on without anything actually going on. Pace really could have been picked up, especially considering how it seemed to have promise when Washington and Bale were back in the USA, hired by a woman to investigate a suspicious death. It could have been a noir tinged film, but I don't know that they knew what they wanted.

The birdwatchers (Myers and Shannon) and the detectives (Nivola and Shoenaerts) could be removed entirely and not affect the story at all. Some real tightening up could have been done. Chris Rock wasn't needed, nor any Beatrice and the in-laws.

I think it's a mistake that Saldaña wasn't given a bigger role, maybe without the boring wafer thin love interest role. She's hardly more than a prop.

Honestly, everything was fine, but there was just too much filler. 2:14 but I think it could have been a tighter 1:45 and only making it a more interesting, fast-paced film.

In The Man From Toronto, they couldn't pronounce 'Toronto' right, and in Amsterdam, they pronounced 'Amsterdam' like they'd never heard anyone Dutch say it.

I gave it a 9. The satire was spot on and pulling together current issues to the early 1930's is just fantastically done. I believe this movie is going to be one of those cult classics, underrated at first but recognized as a classic work eventually.

The low ratings seem to come from people that don't understand satire and the movie would fly over their heads, especially if they have no knowledge of pre-WWII Nazis in America. The script is laced with references to the early 1930's fascist movement in the USA, and they are just dropped into the story so nonchalantly unless you know US history between WWI and WWII, particularly the efforts by the American Bund (US Nazis), most of the references would be missed. For example, the giant George Washington portrait is a direct snub to the American Bund. There were 32 Americans arrested for espionage, largest in American history, for trying to establish a dictatorship. There were rumors that they approached at least two generals. One semi portrayed here fantastically by DeNiro. The attempt to appeal to veterans, hoping they would turn on their Oath to the Constitution, happened also. Henry Ford was rumored top have been part of the group but managed to avoid when arrests were made, as did other wealthy benefactors of the attempted coup. Honestly, just writing this I want to watch again to be able to point out so many of the references that were placed into the story. Just a fantastic script.

The low ratings are most likely because it is satire. Satire usually flies over the heads of dumber people and we seem to be at a juncture where idiots reign supreme. But it's extremely well acted and directed. I felt they did a wonderful job of capturing the 1930's feel in the way it was written, acted and directed. I thought the camera positioning could've been a bit more Orsen Welles style in a few scenes. But just fantastic overall.