Hotel Artemis
The only creative thing about this film is the inventive name of the characters ranging from Waikiki, Niagara, Honolulu, Acapulco and Everest.
Hotel Artemis, written and directed by Drew Pearce, has a plot that is borderline unintelligible. Taking place in Los Angeles in 2028, you see a city on the edge of destruction as the citizens riot for reasons that defy explanation.
In this environment Jodie Foster, known here simply as The Nurse, runs a secret hospital for criminals that will only take a select few. The Nurse has some medical talent despite her need to knock down booze and various forms of medication.
While there are small roles by Jeff Goldblum, Charlie Day and Zachary Quinto who appear as both patients and villains, it is solely because of the performances of Dave Bautista and Sofia Boutella that keeps you from walking out of the theater before the film concludes.
Mr. Bautista, who we know as Drax from the Guardians of the Galaxy films, is interesting to watch in his limited role as The Nurse’s aide. However, Ms. Boutella, an Algerian actress, adds the only true depth to the film as she plays a seductive patient who obviously intends on killing someone before she leaves the hospital. Ms. Boutella, whose character is known simply as Nice, has previously shown her acting strength in Kingsmen: The Secret Service (2014); Star Trek: Beyond (2016) and last year’s Atomic Blonde. In this film Nice is a dangerous woman who you may be able to defeat but it will take a small army to do so.
Jodie Foster has been out of action since Elysium (2013) and it’s hard to imagine why she chose to appear in a film that will quickly disappear from the theater. While she has proven to be an exceptional actress years ago, in this movie you see her doing little more than fighting constant depression over a son she lost years earlier while slowly shuffling from one patient to the next.
There is really no need to go any further with this review other than to inform all of you that I was the only person in the theater when I saw it on a weekend afternoon. Need I say more?
