K R

Avoid at all costs. This was a huge, thumping disappointment. I loved Knives Out, which was brilliant all round - writing, directing, acting etc. This was the polar opposite. Daniel Craig is obviously having great fun reprising the role of Benoit Blanc, but the script is all-over the place and Craig's attempt to channel Peter Seller's Cluseau (Pink Panther) in the first half of the film is hugely mis-judged. No one can do Peter Sellers, as Steve Martin found out to his cost 35 years ago. In the second half, Craig reverts to the Benoit Blanc of the first film, which is closer to Hercule Poirot. That means that things start to look promising, but the poor script can't be saved. The film limps to a disastrously unsatisfying conclusion.

As a fan of Waititi I had been eagerly awaiting this film for months but was shocked by the negative reviews from critics, and so was apprehensive about seeing it. It started off brilliantly, and I kept waiting for it to fall flat on its face as per the negative reviews. It didn’t. It’s consistently brilliant from start to finish, and had me chuckling all the way through, and shedding a tear at the more emotive moments. It’s clear that audiences love this film and the critics are wrong. The critics complain that this film fails as a satire. It doesn’t. It’s a humorous story about a boy, as were Waititi’s last two films. Waititi knows how to tell the story of a boy humourously better than anyone ever in the history of cinema, and he’s done it again with this film. Don’t go expecting to see great insights into Nazism, or the human condition or cutting satire. Go for belly laughs and the story of a boy. You’ll be glad you did.