Synopsis
It would rude to mention anything about the plot to someone. Anything you say would take away the surprise of it.
Who is the Audience for This Movie?
I am not sure, it would be impossible to pin point a specific audience. As you can see I put this review in the Action, Comedy, and Drama categories.
Review
This is a tough review to write because it needs to be completely spoiler free yet convey why this movie deserves to be seen. I am not the best writer but I will give it a shot.
If you don’t feel like reading much the best way I can sum up this movie is to say it manages to combine dramatic themes, action, comedy, and goofy sci-fi into one absolutely entertaining narrative. This movie should not work. By the time the credits rolled all I could think of was (a) How did this insane script get green-lit (b) How was the budget not monstrous.
Lets talk about the script first. The sheer number of movies I have watched usually ensures that by 1/3 of the way through it I can guess at least part of what is going to happen in the end. No human being is going to guess even 1/8 of everything that happens in Everything Everywhere All At Once if you do your either lying or clairvoyant. I feel like after watching it I need to see the actual script to see how they structured the stories through-lines without visuals. It’s mind boggling to fathom how they even came up with some of the ideas on display.
On my second point of budget, there are so many different film styles employed throughout with lots of interestingly detailed locations. The movie looks way more expensive then it was, every dollar of that budget was spent well. I wish I could talk about this aspect of the movie more without ruining your experience but I can’t.
I always hate on severe tonal shifts in movies when they are not handled perfectly or serve the story for the better and Everything Everywhere All At Once made me rethink my hard stance on tonal shifts. All of the dramatic elements that are setup early all get good pay off, the switches to action feel fitting, and the comedy ended up being my favorite part. I laughed so many times, the jokes are interwoven so cleanly that some hit so quick you barely have time to catch them.
I feel like I do need to mention the acting but the only thing I have to say is that everyone commits so hard to the movies many emotional beats that everyone comes off completely natural in what is essentially an incredibly goofy sci-fi movie.