Rather Disappointing

Rating: 5/10 (4 February 2016)

I'm typically not very enthusiastic about the Coen brothers comedy movies, but I heard this one was about the shenanigans of the film industry in the early days, so I was modestly excited.
So it's unfortunate that Hail Caesar is a bland, unfunny experience with only sporadic chuckles.
The Coen's assembled an A-list cast for this outing: George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Channing Tatum, etc. And outside of the main characters Brolin and Clooney play, everyone else feels...squandered. Wasted in over glorified cameos. Jonah Hill's only scene in the movie was featured in the trailer. And all other members of the cast are involved in plot lines not directly involved with the main story. Like what Family Guy goes with their non sequiturs.
Scarlett Johansson is definitely the weakest link in the cast, donning a hokey and distracting New York accent as she goes about playing an actress who's pregnant during her movie's filming (oh, the irony). It just seemed like an unnecessary part of the film that could've easily gone without.
Roger Deakins is once again behind the camera and once again delivers a stunning visual palate, but it doesn't do much to help the movie from feeling dull and overall a disappointing effort from the Coen's. Though it isn't on the level of disappointing as The Ladykillers, it is far, FAR from being on the level of Fargo and The Big Lebowski.
Hai, Caesar! 5/10