The Bad Batch [Reviews]

[grinchy steve]

Reviews start rolling out ...

"Consider, for a moment, a lesser “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Now consider a greater “Southland Tales.” Now drive out, preferably on a clapped-out scooter or a souped-up golf cart, into the Saharan expanse of quality that still exists between those two things, find the exact midpoint and plant a flag for Ana Lily Amirpour‘s second feature “The Bad Batch,” a film that frustratingly contains a good, or at least a fun movie, without actually being a good, or a particularly fun, movie."
,- The Playlist (full review)

"Ana Lily Amirpour’s second feature shoots for Harmony Korine meets Mad Max and would have nearly almost hit the mark were it not for the gratingly aloof attitude and the swaths of directorial license being taken. The Bad Batch might come as music to the ears of diehard fans of films like Spring Breakers and Gummo. However, beneath its dazzlingly hip surface the script and characters leave much to be desired. It’s like taking a trip to Burning Man: a pseudo-spiritual, uniquely punky experience perhaps, but one that’s full of annoying rich kids and ultimately emotionally shallow."
&
"...and Jim Carrey offers a masterclass in subtle physical comedy..."
,- Filmstage.com (full review)

"Cannibals and Trump-style politics converge in Ana Lily Amirpour's striking but dissatisfying sci-fi mashup. To be fair, with its legion grindhouse references and deliberately glassy performance style, “The Bad Batch” isn’t necessarily out to touch the heart. But the film doesn’t exactly quicken it, either: the dreamy deliberation that Amirpour’s debut used to such tense effect doesn’t cast quite the same spell here."
,- Variety (full review)

As for my fellow movie-lover who was there. He texted me (translated from Flemish) :

"Seen it! Tons of ideas and some scenes that really look great and are thrilling. Aside from that, it lacks focus. She focussed on being hip. Many scenes go on for too long and people like Diego Luna are just there in the background, wouldn't matter at all if the supporting cast got replaced or not be there at all. Perhaps this is not the final cut? Her first movie was way better, less forced. The movie has no heart. But I guess you just want to know about Jim? He has nothing to say in this movie, literally. Nothing. But he's fine with the physical stuff, classic Carrey but toned down a lot. He's not that important though. I know this was much anticipated by you, my friend. He wasn't here, btw."

[grinchy steve]

Oolala !

"The most keenly exhilarating movie I’ve seen at the Venice Film Festival, and as of this moment my favorite American picture of 2016, The Bad Batch ..." - "The Bad Batch has a pretty nerve-wracking storyline full of unusual twists and turns; although it ends in a way that’s completely satisfying (albeit oddly so), the way it gets there is never entirely predictable. Its vision of its heroine will no doubt inspire reams of feminist consideration, and rightly so. I was thrilled by the film on purely cinematic terms."
,- RogerEbert.com (full review)

"As a whole, Amirpour presents these evocative concepts as a form of absurdist poetry, heightened by a pop music backdrop and surrealist imagery. “We’re in the darkest corners of the earth, and we’re afraid of our own kind,” one character laments, and it registers as a rallying call in the midst of the madness. Judging by her first two features, that would appear to be Amirpour’s artistic manifesto. But it’s less didactic than creatively endearing, a repurposing of storytelling conventions in a unique ideological context. “The Bad Batch” molds one genre after another into something new — an original voice on par with the attitude of its fiercely independent characters."
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"In only a handful of scenes without a single line of dialogue, Jim Carrey is virtually unrecognizable as a mute nomad pushing a shopping cart around the desert and shifting allegiances as he watches various dramas from afar. It’s an amusing cameo that turns Carrey into a kind of grungy figure of slapstick."
,- IndieWire (full review)

[JimCrazy]

Critic's can be wrong completely at times. Lets wait. Awaiting for its wide release.
Btwn what is Jim Carrey's screen time ?

[Nick]

Critic's can be wrong completely at times. Lets wait. Awaiting for its wide release.
Btwn what is Jim Carrey's screen time ?

10 minutes maybe

[grinchy steve]

According to what I'm reading, his screentime is about 10 to 15 minutes maximum, I guess. As for "the critics", one thing is standing out in both positive and negative reviews : It's overlong and style over substance. According to them. And it's already very clear this is a "love it" or "hate it" case, first votings on LetterBoxd are also mixed. One giving it 4.5 stars, the other 1 star. Everyone just needs to watch it and form his or her own opinion. Reviews are interesting to read, that's all.

[JimCrazy]

According to what I'm reading, his screentime is about 10 to 15 minutes maximum, I guess. As for "the critics", one thing is standing out in both positive and negative reviews : It's overlong and style over substance. According to them. And it's already very clear this is a "love it" or "hate it" case, first votings on LetterBoxd are also mixed. One giving it 4.5 stars, the other 1 star. Everyone just needs to watch it and form his or her own opinion. Reviews are interesting to read, that's all.

ya right

[Nick]

The critics have mixed feelings about this, ok. I'm a little bit surprised to be honest, i had a lot of faith in this film. At least, i'm happy to read that Jim gives a good performance, even if he doesn't speak. I've read on twitter, 2-3 hours ago, reactions from ordinary people, like us, and 70 - 80 % of them are not happy with the result.

[grinchy steve]

True Nick, I have the same feeling. With the reception of 'Girl Walks Alone ...' in mind, I thought 'The Bad Batch', being such a wild concept, would get some festival-love at least. But scrolling through reaction of both critics and 'normal' people (lol), I have the impression everyone is thinking the same about this one. Although, there are those who seem to love-love-love-it, already calling it one of the most interesting movies of 2016 - in a good way.

We'll see ... It was clear from the very beginning this wouldn't be an easy movie for a general audience. And there was the danger Ana Lily Amirpour created such high expectations with her debut, this is doomed to be the "lesser second". Also, the "I just hope she doesn't try to be too hip though ... worked one time ..." comment did came up when her project was announced. And that seems the case indeed. I guess this will be both in "best" and "worst" lists at the end of the year. If it gets a release in 2016, that is.

But in the end, that's what makes it more interesting, imo. The more people don't agree, the more I want to see it. Cause at least, it's an interesting one ... I still have faith in this, it seems to be what I thought it would be, so ... It might be up in my alley. And I hope it get's selected for the Film Festival Ghent next month, so I can check it out.

[grinchy steve]

"According to the majority of those reviews, the final opinion on the writer-director Any Lily Amirpour creative vision, has been very positive." Um. About the news article at JCO, I have to say I find the interpretation of the current reviews out there a bit ... off. Most reviews point at a lot of problems, even the good ones. And half of them are marked as "rotten" on RT. But I do understand the fact someone wants to focus on the good things. I still believe in this one, ... everything I see and read feels like a confirmation of the fact I'm going to like this.



On the other hand, a certain guy I follow called this movie "Road Warrior if it was made by Quinten Tarantino and mixed with Spring Breakers, great stuff!" I will post his video when it's up. I didn't like 'Spring Breakers', but I can see where the comparison is coming from ...

[EvaAraujo]

Um. About the news article at JCO, I have to say I find the interpretation of the current reviews out there a bit ... off. Most reviews point at a lot of problems, even the good ones. And half of them are marked as "rotten" on RT. But I do understand the fact someone wants to focus on the good things. I still believe in this one, ... everything I see and read feels like a confirmation of the fact I'm going to like this.

Hi Grinchy steve.
I was the one who wrote the article about the reviews. Yes its true, I do like to focus on the positive but I also didn't wanna make a too detailed article because I haven't seen the movie. In fact this article was just about the general reviews that came out before I wrote it.
We hope to write our own review, when one of us gets to see it. ^^
Until I wrote the article the reviews were mostly positive. Of course that now, things may have changed. I'm so glad though that you voiced your opinion.

I have to admit is hard for me to write articles about critic reviews. I wanted to keep it simple but understandtable which sometimes I don't feel like some reviews are.
It's in moments like that I wish I was part of the entertainment bussiness.

I will do better Grinchy Steve!

[grinchy steve]

Eva, there is no such thing as you doing better, cause it's just fine already. Just keep up the good work as it is. And I do understand the fact you didn't want to read all of it, understandable. I never do it myself, but in this specific case, I wanted to know more about the reactions, since they were extremely mixed. Lucky for me, not one spoiler popped up.

[grinchy steve]

Some 'normal' movie goers I follow on LetterBoxd ...

★½ out of 5
A heartbreaking letdown. The film presents us with no interesting characters and no fascinating ideas. It relies on a tired, quiet western asthetic and a few good performances to carry out its bloated run time. The soundtrack is prominent, until it's not. I can't believe this is from the same director of A Gil Walks Home Alone at Night.

★★★ out of 5
Wow. So stoned on itself you could mistake it for a Nicolas Winding Refn film. Loopy and freakish. I was intermittently on board.

★½ out of 5
Imagine the aesthetics of a music video set to the most unpleasant sounds imaginable for two straight hours. That's what it's like sitting through The Bad Batch.

I was so taken with 'A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night', but this follow-up from the same writer-director feels like a distracted misfire. It's packed with stuff — a community of muscle-porn desert cannibals, Jim Carrey getting one really funny scene in a wholly silent role, a female protagonist who's down two limbs from the baseline number, and Keanu Reeves as a cult leader. What it doesn't have is a theme or a goal or an ending that justifies any of this. It's kind of a slow, sleepy Mad Max with some really lousy fortune-cookie philosophy at the end.

There are also two extremely positive reviews giving 4 and 4½ stars , but in languages I don't understand.

[tlmarvin]

Saturday, September 10, 2016--6:44 pm CST

I'm very happy that "The Bad Batch" won the Special Jury Prize. I hope it does well
in Toronto and Los Angeles. I wonder if Jim Carrey will be in Toronto. And he's gonna be at the Beyond Film Festival in Los Angeles. Will it ever get a distributor?

Terry Marvin (Dallas, Texas)

[EvaAraujo]

Eva, there is no such thing as you doing better, cause it's just fine already. Just keep up the good work as it is. And I do understand the fact you didn't want to read all of it, understandable. I never do it myself, but in this specific case, I wanted to know more about the reactions, since they were extremely mixed. Lucky for me, not one spoiler popped up.

Thank you for understanding.
I really didn't red them all, especially the ones from other languages.
Google translator is good but when it comes to big text there's always flaws.
Yeah. Most of the article describe the same scenes so no spoilers indeed.

[grinchy steve]

I don't have the time to quote them all right now, but based on (for example) Letterboxd and tweets, The Bad Batch was better received on TIFF and Fantastic Fest. Still, it's clearly a case of lots of love and lots of hate, going from "Best of the year so far!" to "Among the worst movies of the decade!". Cool!