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The Movie Column
By arts columnist Tom Sims
There are tons of movies that get
thumbs (way) down from critics but
audiences love! Do you have a favorite?
There’s one I’ll review here — but
let’s check out the phenomenon as
seen through the lens of Rotten Tomatoes!
Romantic musicals your thing? Mama Mia
(2008) got a 55% splat rating from critics on
Rotten Tomatoes and a 66% fresh rating from
audiences. The sequel 10 years later did better
by critics while audiences stayed the same.
How about superhero flicks? Did you like
Venom (2018; 30% critic score, 80% audience
score) or Black Adam (2022; 39% critics, 88%
audience). The audiences who watched would
likely agree, but the critics not so much. Some
other movies where critics cringed and fans
binged are National Treasure (2004; 46% critic,
76% audience — sequel did about the same
but lower), The Gray Man (2022; 45% v 90%),
and Slumberland (2022; 40% v 86%).
This week’s movie isn’t new, but you got
to run to catch it — it moves fast. Bullet Train
(2022; 54% v 76%) is a ridiculously cartoonish
movie, but it grabs you at the station and
rushes you through the action. It has its share
of celebrities and lesser-known actors, and
the characters have code names. Brad Pitt
plays Ladybug, an enlightened assassin who
needs to pick up an “important briefcase”
(that’s the ceremonial MacGuffin).
Ladybug is joined by a parade of assassins
as the briefcase is tossed around in frenzied
action. Critics say that action was sometimes
too whacked to follow, and they may be right.
But it’s fun to follow anyway.
The film grossed nearly $300 million,
so unsurprisingly Sony is considering
a sequel. The movie has garnered multiple
award nominations — one being a People’s
Choice Award. MTV also gave a Breakthrough
Performance Award nomination to mega
popstar Bad Bunny for his portrayal of The
Wolf. Okay, maybe bringing up these awards
is me rationalizing why I loved this flick so
much. What can I say? When a zany action
comedy doesn’t go “off the rails,” we need to
give some credit.
Update: Anthony M read And Just Like That,
the Sex in the City series reviewed here. He says
the Samantha character (Kim Cattrall) was
sorely missed on the new show. “Who else
would set the other characters straight when
they messed up,” he said. Noted!
Tom is a podcaster and an award-winning
indie filmmaker. His books include
adaptations of his short films. Visit YouTube.
com/tomhsims or flixyoumissed.com.
October 12, 2023 EXIT ZERO Page 37