Hotel Artemis (dir. Drew Pearce)

Jodie Foster leads an all-star cast in "Iron Man 3" writer Drew Pearce’s much talked about exploitation neo- noir infused action hit, "Hotel Artemis". In her first role since 2013’s "Elysium" (in which she was horribly dubbed); Foster is in terrific form here, as the de-facto leader of the head of the aforementioned hotel, which is actually a haven for injured criminals. Though ramshackle in parts and not without some rather derivative creative choices, this B-movie has a nostalgic charm that reminded me of John Carpenters “Escape To New York", and is perhaps best digested as a midnight guilty pleasure with a beer and curry.

Utilizing a filmmaking aesthetic not unlike a comic book series, we begin with a bank heist gone wrong - led by serial bank robbing duo of Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown) and Honolulu (Bryan Tyree Henry) - who are forced to head to the 'Hotel Artemis" after blood is spilled. It’s 2028 Los Angeles and the sprawling urban metropolis is in the midst of the worst riots in its history. Foster plays “The Nurse”, a specialized healthcare professional at the aforementioned night-stay with a particular set of rules; admission is only accessible through a membership, and patients are outlawed from killing each other. As the brothers turn up at the dilapidated residence, the "Nurse" is made aware of an even more drastic problem, that criminal kingpin Niagra (Jeff Goldblum) is on his way and is in need of medical attention. The only problem is that he doesn’t have a membership, and he and his trusty partner/son Zachary Quinto aren’t accustomed to pandering to our lead heroines decrees.

Littering the remaining rooms while all this is going on are a disparate collection of criminal cohorts. They vary drastically in nuance and indeed humor, with the standout being Sofia Boutella's sexy knife-throwing assassin Nice - who gets the best hand to hand combat scene in the film - to obnoxious arms dealer Acapulco (Charlie Day), who is adorned with a laughable wig and moustache, the actor's shtick soon grows tiresome and flirts dangerously close to cynical pastiche.

Thankfully it’s a minor misstep; as the charismatic lead turns of Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us) and Jodie Foster - along with Dave Bautista's big friendly giant routine in that of Everest enable an unlikely emotional catharsis. As the drama progresses and the impending threat begins to materialize, Pearce is able to anchor the occasional moments of breathtaking action by reminding us of the lawlessness that has overtaken the southern Californian town. An ever increasing water drought is the genesis for the riots, and the subsequent looting. With the real-life similarities in 2018 California still in the public consciousness, it's fresh to see Pearce's exploitation tendencies come to fruition, and it was enjoyable to see "Hotel Artemis" take an sociopolitical edge. In addition, though only ten years in the future - the odd scenes of 3D printing organs and technological advances bring a nuanced edge to the science fiction element (as well as references to jumping over the wall) - which Pearce handles with uncanny dignity.

Coming in at a modest 89 minutes (a five star running time if you ask me, especially for this kind of cynical schlock), our director isn’t afraid of using every moment in this deliriously entertaining trash exploitation movie to light up his characters eccentricities and his fantastical imagination, and the likes of cinematographer Chung-Hoon Chung and production designer Ramsey Avery help no-end in creating a mis-en-scene that evokes the hedonism of the ensuing vigilantism in the sprawling landscape,. Though most of the drama takes place in the aforementioned dwelling, Pearce and his filmmaking team are able to extend the confines of the decrepit home-stay through the use of neat camera angles the explosively witty dialogue.

You’d be hard pressed to say "Hotel Artemis" is perfect, as it’s far from the masterpiece it perhaps thinks it is. It would seem churlish to penalize a filmmaker for trying to implement an emotional edge to the narrative, as many filmmakers (Bay, Snyder) are incapable of assembling any catharsis despite how hard they try, yet the nurses sub-plot surrounding her tragic past felt wholly unsatisfactory, and when juxtaposed with the interpersonal squabbling and sporadically entertaining action sequences seemed unnecessary in scope.

However, unlike some filmmakers who try to hard to be original and end up churning out derivative bilge, Pearce has written and directed a b-movie that has charm and substance in abundance, some charismatic lead turns and an understanding of what works within the genre that resonates into popcorn entertainment which is nothing less than deliriously entertaining.

Rating 3.5/5