Bad Times at the El Royale - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
The ensemble film genre is nothing new. In fact, most of us take it for granted that there was never that particular genre in fact, as more and more blockbuster films make use of an all star cast to garner a wider audience (usually with a drastically bloated budget). However, it can probably be said that Grand Hotel, starring Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, was probably the progenitor of that particular sub set. Ironically, Bad Times at the El Royale plays almost as an homage, or deconstruction, of that particular 1932 film, putting the comings and goings of a mysterious group of travelers at a hotel into question. Almost Neo-Noir in nature, El Royale is a twisted and convoluted mystery that makes use of the secrets of all of those involved into creating a tapestry type story that unfolds minute by minute and draws all of the characters together for one giant finale.

Started as a passion project by director/writer Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), it plays out as part mystery, part noir detective work, and part period piece drama told with a sort of Quentin Tarantino flair for violence and witty dialog when all is said and done. We’re introduced to our main characters when Father Flynn (Jeff Bridges), Singer Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), and vacuum salesman Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm) all descend upon the once famous El Royale hotel that is straddled DIRECTLY over the border between California and Nevada. Straight from the get go you’re clued into the fact that something isn’t right. These people have secrets, and none of them are trusting the other. The poor bellboy/night waiter/bartender/custodian Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman) has his own secrets, and as more and more guests start arriving, it becomes clear that their arrival is not by accident, and their coming conflict is definitely by choice.

I won’t go deeper into the film’s analysis of the plot simply due to the fact that El Royale thrives off of doling out little bits of information at a time, dancing back and forth through the timelines to give the audience the next clue in the puzzle of “what is going on”? Goddard is solidly aware of the Neo-noir overtones of his film, using musical cues and visual aids reminiscent of the old 1950s and 1960s gumshoe detective stories while not BEING a detective story. I was actually surprised as the trailer made the film seem like a much different tail. My estimations were that they were all here at the hotel for the same thing, and that it’s their “dance” around each other that would reveal their similar goal. Instead of that, Goddard actually has multiple sub plots going at once, with each characters story being unique, and their reason for being at the hotel just as unique. They do coincide at times, but all the characters happen to just have their own goals and missions that play out over time.

The acting is simply superb, with Jeff Bridges playing a mixture of crook and empathetic character with his “Father Flynn” roll, and Lewis Pullman actually having one of the meatier roles in the film as young Miles Miller. Dakota Johnson still can’t act her way out of a paper bag, and is one of the few downsides to the film. She’s barely better than she was in 50 Shades of Gray , but is overshadowed by Cailee Spaeny as her mentally disturbed sister. Chris Hemsworth is charismatic as ever, playing a sort of Charles Mansonesque type cult leader who ends up being the final key in the puzzle that brings everyone to their violent ends.

Goddard has fun with the film, blending elements of Grand Hotel and other murder mysteries together with a sort of Tarantino (ish) penchant for bloody violence and witty dialog. However, he does have a few quirks and flaws to the movie that slow it down a bit. There’s some plot points that get side lined in the film early one, and Goddard makes the choice to break up the center act with competing “different time line” angles where the same point of time is shown from a different perspective, that makes it feel choppy and stuttery. The ending is sadly a bit too neat and precise, but there is such a tide wave of infectious violence and momentum that you’re just swept up with the whole thing and grinning from ear to ear till the ending.




Rating:

Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug content and brief nudity




4K Video: Video:

Supposedly shot digitally and then transferred to a 4K master for home video, Bad Times at the El Royale looks great on UHD disc. The film is graded heavily, with a sort of color tweaked transfer that is meant to replicate the 1960s, but still with the detail levels and clarity of a modern looking film. Colors are more in the pastel and burnished primary range, but everything is well saturated and lovingly detailed. The lines on Chris Hemsworth’s bare abs, the lacing on Darlene’s sparkly outfit at the end, or countless other little nuances make this one great looking transfer. There’s a few hazy shots in the middle of darkness with rain, but that’s to be expected and those are fleeting glimpses of flaws at best. Black levels are inky and deep, with a sort of sepia overtone to it and the HDR shows noticeable improvements on background textures as well as punchier colors. At the end of the day, it’s a fairly substantial increase in quality over an already drop dead perfect Blu-ray encode.







Audio:

Given a boost to Dolby Atmos for the 4K UHD disc, El Royale has a truly great sound mix. It’s not over the top (excuse the pun) with activity in the overheads or using insane bass, but it has a very VERY immersive quality to it thanks to the copious (and I mean COPIOUS) uses of music throughout the film. The movie is almost 50% musical background score, ranging from old 40s and 50s songs, to “modern” day music of the time period, especially with Darlene’s practicing her own singing career throughout the film. Dialog is well placed up front and the other channels are awash with all sorts of ambient background noises that just shift across the sound stage at well. A crackling fireplace flutters in the background, while rain drops come from above, around and behind the listener during the infamous “moment that starts it all”. Gunshots ring out with authority and power, while the end “battle” literally had me looking over my shoulders as I swear I could hear things behind and beside me. It’s not an action sound track per se, but the Atmos track for the disc is beyond reproach and a really immersive mix that had me grinning like a giddy school girl.





Extras:

• Making Bad Times at the El Royale
• Gallery










Bad Times at the El Royale is a fascinating little movie, and being that Goddard has only directed one film in his life (Cabin in the Woods) he does a fantastic job with his sophomore film. There’s a few hiccups here and there, but the movie is very stylish, very creepy, and doles out just enough information to keep the audience guessing about what’s going on in the convoluted turn of events. The 4K UHD disc is a good solid improvement over the Blu-ray in both video and audio, with the only really weak link being the anemic extras. Definitely check it out.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman, Lewis Pullman, Xavier Dolan, Shea Whigham
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Written by: Drew Goddard
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1, HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DVS, French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: R
Runtime: 140 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 1st, 2019

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Jack said:

I finally got to watch this movie and I thought it quite good. Great dialog and a fair amount of violence. The cinematography most surely set the tone for this movie, especially combined with the set pieces.
Well done and I am happy I bought it.

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glad you liked it Jack. It was a fun little mystery thriller. Very stylish, very chic, and while a bit flawed, certainly entertaining

phillihp23 said:

Gonna give this one a spin, the trailer gives me that 90's feeling, like reservoir dogs.

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It has some vibes like that, but it's much more stylish and glossy than the grittiness of Reservoir Dogs. More late Tarantino flavor than early if you know what I mean