Intelligent, Witty, Honest - Yet possibly unappealing.

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2016)

The Coen Brothers are incredible, simply put. You can call them overrated, you can call them too artsy, you can call them bizarre; call them whatever you like, but they are some damn fine film makers. They give interesting, original insights to film, and always put effort into their work.
A lot of the gags of the film, however, rely a bit on knowledge of the glory days of '40s-'50s cinema, which brings me to the film's biggest issue; some people will not find it funny. This is simply because some people will not have enough of an understanding of the comedy, or it simply wouldn't be their cup of tea. The main source of laughs is the satire and almost spoof-like riffs on post-WW2 cinema, with spoofs of over-the-top westerns and synchronized swimming sequences, as well as soppy melodramas and espionage spy films.
The cast is great - particularly George Clooney as the dim-witted actor Baird Whitlock and Josh Brolin as tough guy "fixer" Eddie Mannix. Alden Ehrenreich's role is a nice addition to the film's great cast. He brings a young, fresh faced charm and charisma to his role,while Ralph Fiennes and Scarlett Johannson are hilarious in their side-character roles. However,some of the other roles, such as those from Jonah Hill and Tilda Swinton, are in glorified cameos that were prominently featured in marketing for the film. I can see many being upset that the actors and actresses in said roles were given only a few minutes of screen time.
Hail, Caesar! is a solid, thought-provoking offering from the Coen Brothers. It benefits from a strong cast, consistent laughs and snappy writing. However, it is slightly undermined by an occasionally jumbled plot structure, and a possibly unappealing comedic style.
Morally speaking, Hail, Caesar! is a tale of humans attempting and sometimes failing to do the right thing, while also trying to make themselves better. It's this timeless, empathetic theme that makes Hail, Caesar! a worthy inclusion to The Coen Brothers' already- stacked arsenal of filmography.
Rating: 7.5/10 - Worth-While Watch