Catch-22 Review

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2013)

Catch-22-** (out of 4): All the components of a great film are there: a brilliant novel by Joseph Heller, Buck Henry in charge of writing, Mike Nichols behind the camera, and a cast any director worth his salt would die for. Of course that all looks good on paper, but it never quite comes together. The black humor of the novel comes out rather awkwardly on the screen, the vignettes not coming together the way they do in the book. The film is a hot mess, a smashing together of Heller's novel into slightly funny scenes that have little flow. Arkin is a great actor, but not the right Yossarian. Arkin is too distinctly New Yorker and looks way too old in the role. Of course Henry's writing does nail certain scenes and the cast is fun to watch, but it is never as great as it should be. It would even be a stretch to say that it is even half-good.