A Hologram for the King

Starring: Tom Hanks, Aleander Black, Sarita Choudhury, Ben Whishaw, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Tom Skerritt
Directed by: Tom Tykwer
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A salesman (Tom Hanks) stays in Saudi Arabia to sell a hologram system to the King.

Review:

Tim: You'd think I would be totally stoked for this movie. It stars my absolute favorite actor, Tom Hanks, and is based on a book by Dave Eggers- an author I really like (I've read 3 of his books, but not this one yet). So while this movie had tons going for it, I entered it with some trepidation. The problem is that it just didn't look all that good. I kept my hopes high, but I was nervous about this film's prospects. A Hologram for the King isn't a terrible movie, but it certainly isn't one to get very excited about. This is a decent movie, but really needed to be much better.

The biggest problem I had with the film is that nothing really happens. I understand the plot and the events that take place, but nothing on screen really engages us, nothing draws us in. There's no real reason to care for the main character, the supporting characters, or anything that happens on screen. There's nothing memorable or especially interesting about this film. Everything is average. I really wanted to like this movie, but man, it just didn't deliver. I was never bored, never overly frustrated with the movie, but despite my best efforts to find something to really love about it, there just wasn't anything there. This movie is surprisingly forgettable.

Tom Hanks is always good and I always love seeing him- anytime I can see a NEW Tom Hanks movie, it's like a little celebration for me. He does some things very well here, but I can't help but feel like he didn't quite nail what was special or unique about this character. Obviously some of the blame lies with the director, but Hanks wasn't able to really endear himself to us. This character ultimately proved to be too forgettable and too bland. I give Hanks credit for turning in a good performance, but for this movie to succeed, his performance needed to be incredible. Alexander Black turns in a few supporting performance and elicited more than a few laughs. Sarita Choudhury was fine- she had a few strong moments, but I can't claim to have loved her performance. I was excited that Tom Skerritt was in the film, but if you blink, you'll miss him. He had nothing of any importance to do, unfortunately. I don't believe director Tom Tykwer fully leveraged the cast at all.

The story is okay- an American businessman is in Saudi Arabia and deals with the culture shock and frustrations there. There's a lot of time spent on establishing the uniqueness of the country and culture he's in. That part of the movie is certainly interesting, although it's not completely compelling. I wonder if the book is similar, or if something got lost in the transition to the screen. Our protagonist has a mild health concern, struggles to wake up in the morning, and deals with frustratingly inattentive business stuff. Each little thing is fine, it's not boring and it's interesting to some extent. However, as a whole, the pieces don't all fit together in a way that builds any sense of momentum. The story kind of ambles and meanders along. It moves forward, but at a glacial pace. And by the time we reach the end of the story, there's no big conclusion, no satisfying payoff. The film kind of fizzles out and we shrug our shoulders- it's not a bad ending, but it's not going to stick with us very long.

I'm disappointed in A Hologram for the King, but my expectations are always high when it's Tom Hanks. This is a perfectly decent little dramedy. It's somewhat entertaining and doesn't do anything particularly poorly. This is a decent movie- I'd watch it again sometime. I just wish it was better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Larry Crowne, Cloud Atlas