From the writers of "A Simple Man"

Rating: 5/10 (26 July 2016)

This is clearly a Coen Bros film, but a very tedious one. I laughed a few times, but mostly wanted many scenes to be over. It reminded me of my experience watching "A Simple Man": some few inspired moments, but it doesn't add up and overall is underwhelming.
I understand that it is a meditation on religious worship vs cinematic celebrity, but just because a movie has a theme or symbolism doesn't mean that it is good. The narrative structure is rather poor, and some satirical scenes felt like padded extra time. I left with the impression that the Coens only had enough material for an inspired satirical short film about a 1950s biblical epic, but decided to expand it into a feature length film by making it a larger exploration of the dark side of classic Hollywood and the deification of celebrities. However, characters take center place, then drop off, re-appear into the story suddenly and without reason or narrative build up, and then the shift is back to the Clooney story, or Brolin's character.
Coens' checklist:
-a criminal plot that goes wrong: check. There's even a briefcase. -men in power sitting behind desks: repeatedly, check. -a main character gets punched/shot in the face: slapped repeatedly -morality and religious themes: check -literary and classic film references: check -a hit-man or bounty hunter: not really. Brolin's character is portrayed as a studio's version of a mob enforcer, but that's as close as it gets. -regular cast members: Mrs. Coen, Clooney, Brolin.
Highlights: an inspired discussion between religious leaders over the portrayal of Jesus on film. The revelation of who the kidnappers are and their agenda. An over-the-top golden-haired Jesus. Discussion of the Jonah Hill's character, a professional fake person. Discussion of needing to distrust extras. The actor playing Jesus being asked about his cast status. It (almost) ends with a good joke, in the final scene about Clooney shooting a movie (although the momentum is lost). Alden Ehrenreich's character's date with a Carmen Miranda type. A few mildly amusing other jokes. Tilda Swinton's character had its moments, but this character has been done quite a few times before.
Really tedious: almost every re-creation of movies being shot, and fresh cuts of the movies. They're impressively faithful, the actors appropriate, but they drag, have no pace, don't know when to end, and aren't funny. I am guessing that they were meant to be criticisms of those movies and how they were shot, to remove the glamour and holiness of 1940s/50s films, but they are shot in what appears to be a tone-deaf comedic tone.
Out-of-place: the sub-plot of Scarlett Johansson's character.
Summary: disappointing Coens. I would have preferred the shorter film.