Solid vegetable movie yet disappointing for Coen Brothers Standards

Rating: 6/10 (5 July 2016)

The latest film by Hollywood's best directing pair (Joel and Ethan Coen) "Hail, Caesar!" features the best ensemble cast displayed in the Coen Brothers' career thus far. The film contains all the classic trademarks of a Coen Brothers picture, however, the movie is polarizing and something that only 50+ year olds can enjoy with its dated jokes, esoteric references, and lack of a focused narrative.
"Hail, Caesar!" starts out strong with some finely tuned humorous scenes bolstered by sharply written dialogue by the Coen Brothers. The premise, as shown in the trailer, is another abduction/ransom plot with a clever Coen Bros twist. As the movie goes on the plot becomes more stretched out with subplots that stray away from the main plot/focus. This leaves a handful of moviegoers (anyone under about 40-years-old in this case) bored with nothing but hit-or-miss 50's humor and cryptic references to entertain. The story did not have enough spark and vigor to carry its rather short runtime unlike what The Coen Bros did in "Fargo," and "No Country for Old Men," nor did it achieve the comedy gold in "The Big Lebowski," and even the underrated "Burn After Reading." Although it did have all the fine performances, deft dialogue, colorful cinematography, and exquisite period detail that all the films listed above had.
It's a shame that all the talent and flair the Coen Brothers could muster up only produced an iffy crime story without any dramatic heft in its watered-down plot with dated jokes only 50-year-olds would get. Yet it still would be unfair to say this movie was garbage because of its filmmaking craft. The Coen Brothers really are some of the most competent and distinctive directing voices. Only if next time they could make a more universal and comprehensive picture that would captivate audiences of all ages instead of just anyone familiar with 1950's pop culture.