Amsterdam (2022)

Set in the early 1930s, two veterans of WWI, a doctor (Christian Bale) and a lawyer (John David Washington) are hired by the daughter (Taylor Swift) of their former commander (Ed Begley Jr.) to investigate his suspicious death. An autopsy shows he was poisoned but that is only the beginning of a major conspiracy that threatens our very democracy. Written and directed by David O. Russell (AMERICAN HUSTLE), the film is very loosely based on the Business Plot conspiracy of 1933. What might have been a tense conspiracy thriller along the lines of ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN or THE PARALLAX VIEW has been turned into a bloated movie (2 hours, 15 minutes) padded out with unnecessary characters and heavy handed proselytizing that sidetrack the principal narrative. The film received poor reviews and the public stayed away and the film is rumored to have lost up to $100 million. The large cast all do good work but Russell's direction is all over the place giving the movie an erratic and often illogical tone. Whimsy in a political thriller isn't a good mix. Its intentions are in the right place but the execution is deadly. The first rate cast include Margot Robbie, Robert De Niro, Rami Malek, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Anya Taylor Joy, Matthias Schoenaerts, Beth Grant, Zoe Saldana, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Olyphant and Alessandro Nivola.