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Nice try, but the satire doesn't land in this film that skewers pretentious foodies and the chefs who cook for them.

There's already been one satire this year that savages the rich, "Triangle of Sadness," and that's a much better film than this one. I'm ok with an outlandish premise, but if you're going to give me one, then the rules within the world of the movie have to be consistent. In this film, characters act like they're in a realistic horror movie one minute and a goofy satire the next. The tone doesn't stick to one or the other, so what was probably intended to be cutting instead falls flat.

The ending especially is silly. It definitely did not leave me wanting s'more.

Grade: C+

The mix between horror and satire seems undecided or bland, the backstory was lacking and the plot presents itself as something grander than it really is. The same hollowness of the dishes carries onto the essence of the movie. Satirizing something that is hollow and giving the final product value is a difficult task, this movie really tries to do that, but given its nature, it didn't quite stick the landing with me.

The cast is simply great, full of recognizable faces and good acting. The cinematography was good, nothing out of this world but enjoyable.

Overall its entertaining, but the delivery of its message is not strong. Even if this flavor of satire wasn't the best suited for me, it kept me intrigued and while not fully satisfied, I enjoyed it.

I thought this movie was original, entertaining and very interesting. It has a deeper message about how the world looks today. The constant stress and pressure of performing and pleasing hard-to-please people. People who are spoiled, people who only care about money, people who take life for granted, and so on. This is what the characters in the film, the chef and the guests, represent. The guests represent the worst of us. Constantly feeling pressured about something that you actually think is fun, is no longer fun. That is why the chef has invited these very people to the restaurant. It is such people who have destroyed his passion, meaning and joy in life. If you understand the premise and concept of this movie, you will really like it. The film is dark and exciting, with a chaotic and funny ending, which I liked.

"The Menu" offers a trailer spectacular enough to entice me to set foot in a physical movie theater for the first time in 3 years. Packed with both veteran and burgeoning actors and directed by Mark Mylod of "Succession" fame, this movie has all the goodies to entertain you and make you think at the same time, supposedly. It starts out well enough, introducing quirky mysterious characters starting with Elsa played by Hong Chau. I find her really captivating in this role, a perfect combo of politeness and menace. Why is she dressed like that? Then we meet the Chef who has an agenda that unravels through the perspective of Margot, played by the always-awesome Anya Taylor-Joy. Margot is us, wanting to expose the ridiculousness of it all. Yet herein lies the problem with the movie. Its effort as a biting satire turns into a confusing mess at the end. "The Menu" could have given us something to chew on, instead I walk out of the movie theater scratching my head.

What I took away from this movie is that nothing ruins true passion like pretentiousness and hunger for monetary gain. It's a brilliant ode to the thin line between love and obsession and the difference between them both. Ralph Fiennes is perfection in the role as Chef Slowik, once again has he achieved the task of making one feel compassion and tenderness for a character committing unspeakable deeds. Anya Taylor-Joy is brilliant as always, her strong portrayal of "Margot" is awe inspiring, what ever life throws at her, she's ready to face it. Another important, and comforting aspect I learned from this movie is that student loans aren't always a bad thing.

The hype for The Menu intrigued me. The reviews celebrated its genius. So I had to see it. And when I sat in the theater and the credits began to roll, all o could say was, "Huh?" The Menu starts with Ready or Not vibes with a fish-out-of-water real-world character who ends up at a fancy dinner with a collection of high society foodies and critics. The trailer gave me expectations of cannibalism cult or Most Dangerous Game-type plots, but instead, nothing really happened. I think I understood what The Menu was trying to convey with its deeper meaning, but I still came up disappointed. Anya Taylor-Joy and the rest of the cast gave great performances, but there was little that really brought the movie together. Maybe the subversion of the cannibal or hunting expectation was the movie's brilliance? The Menu definitely tried to be clever, but whether it was or not might be open to interpretation. Ironically, I sat through the whole movie and left wanting more... left hungry.

This will be short and sweet. The film boasts fantastic performances from Hoult, Fiennes, and Taylor-Joy, however, they were all let down by an anticlimactic plot. The first half of the film sets the mysitcal tone well with good tension building, leaving the viewer theorising what is really going on behind the veil. Unfortunately, the film falls flat in its second act. Story arcs established in the earlier scenes are flouted, and seeds of what could be shocking scenes end up being missed opportunities for something that could be truly twisted and unnerving. And sorry, I have nothing left to say but need to fulfill the character requirement. Thanks for reading.

I waited months for this film thinking it would be so much better than it was. There is nothing quite like the let down of expecting something great, and it turning out to be just good.

While the plot is pretty original (which normally scores high points with me) and while the film is at times quite beautiful to look at, it missed some of the main point: sweet gratification and satiation.

Scares are not included on the menu; what there is of comedic value is presented as filling; it is unsatisfyingly light on gore; hints of interesting dialogue exist, but they are only scantily peppered throughout; the build-up of characters and backstory is distinctly and unpalatably in short supply, as well as somewhat bland; intentions are nondescript; it wore on and became progressively less, instead of more enjoyable; and, the main course was both 'cheesy' and a bit less than fulfilling. Yes, I greedily took it all in, but by the time dessert was to be served, the previous dishes laid still undigested and leaden.

I'd like to speak to the manager, please.

The Menu isn't the first to satirise the rich and their incompetence and isn't saying anything new but that definitely doesn't prevent it from being a great satire that pokes fun at everything it can in ways that are often consistently funny, playful and extremely stylish.

Ralph Fiennes gives a terrific performance full of awkward unease that only enhances his commanding screen presence. Anya Taylor-Joy is a perfect audience surrogate amongst a sea of deliberately unlikeable characters of which the best is Nicholas Hoult whose almost too good at making his character hilariously pathetic.

Mark Mylod's direction is excellent, the film has more than enough visual style to match the pretentiousness of its characters and is really good at building tension. The music by Colin Stetson is fantastic, striking a unusual balance between beautiful and unnerving.

This movie is funny and certainly unique with it's over the top parody of gourmet cooking shows and culture. As opposed to other art forms, the restaurant industry is primarily focused on providing an essential product. We need food to live, we don't need paintings or novels on that same primal level. The reality is that overly rich people who pay exorbitant fees to eat tiny amounts of food offends us all on some level. The movie is not so subtle in its critique of this class disparity. However, I think the movie fails on several occurrences to deliver its message. Firstly, the satire element does not fit well with the thriller component and makes the movie feel unbalanced. The philosophical and social messages, primarily delivered by the chef, feel very forced and obvious.

In terms of entertainment this is not a boring movie. If anything it could have been slower probably and that would have added to the thrilling element of it. The idea is unique and the narrative is surprising, which is the saving grace for this work. I think the creators just need to trust their audience more.

I have read other reviews. I didn't want to but against my better judgement I did and to be frank, I find a lot of reviews just lazy and coming from people who don't watch film. Sure, they see film but they don't watch it. Unfortunately the modern audience has succumb to eyeball popcorn and disregard art. Which this film is pointing out and which these "critics" are complaining about. To give this film anything below a five means that critic is a marvel fan. I look at this film as a throw back when writing was an important drive behind a film and actors had to match the writing with their performance. This movie was very, very well written, the direction was great and the acting was spot. However, this film was made for people who actually think so I can see why some reviews are childish. Nah, this movie is worth any intelligent persons time.

THE MENU is a good and unusual little thriller that proves a breath of fresh air in this day and age. One for the more jaded among us, it provides the kind of surprising, satirical modern-times scenario that I was hoping from GLASS ONION (and which didn't land). This one is variously a mystery, a comedy, a horror film and more besides, and it has depth and a careful skewering of a whole industry which I found more than satisfying. The cast is remarkable too, with each particular actor - from Fiennes to Hoult, Leguizamo to Taylor-Joy - carefully chosen to fit the perfect role for their talents. Appealing!

The Menu is probably the most unpredictable movie I've seen in a while. This thriller is filled tension and super dark comedy moments and it's wonderfully carried by the amazing, Anya-Taylor Joy, the charismatic, Nicholas Hoult, the menacing, Ralph Fiennes, and the rest of the cast as well (one of the best ensembles in a film of the year). Overall, this is a brilliant satire on the food industry and class warfare. This film is (pun intended) chef's kiss!

Also little tangent, Nicholas Hoult was up against Robert Pattinson for The Batman and after watching The Menu I really wish Nicholas gotten the part because he gave a lot of Bruce Wayne energy here.

"The Menu" is pretty good. It offers a fresh and wonderful visual. The setting itself is on the edge of the island, and they have an elegant set design, so it's great to look at. The cast is excellent, so I could feel all the suspense and thrills throughout the movie thanks to their outstanding acting. Some strange quirks have appeared since the mysterious appearance of Hong Chau as Elsa at the beginning. Then came the unexpected quirks in the chef's and kitchen crew's acts. The tension had risen to the point where I was anticipating and planning too far ahead. So, I was ready to see that something wilder might be coming. And then I was surprised every time the bloody scene appeared. It's brutal, but nothing really happened. So, I might say that it gives me a ready but not-so-ready feeling. Besides, you can tell that the movie is carefully made and directed because there is a representation of food creation and the restaurant experience from the perspectives of customers and critics. I would recommend it if anyone asks, though, not gonna lie, I did expect more from the ending. The beginning is excellent, but the ending is a bit unsatisfying for me. When the movie is coming to an end, I feel like there are still some things I need to chew on before then. Perhaps it's because the background stories have already been given, but they are still lacking, or I just need to rewatch it again to get a clearer picture.

It didn't quite land for me. It wasn't just focused on absurdly high prices of meals that are just bite-sized. The chef's intentions are all over the place.

Comes off as hypocritical at some parts. Like the chef is also contributing to the elitism that he hates. So why not do better and change your business model and serve everyone? Another one was that actor who is hated by the chef because he did a movie for only money. I fail to see why is that wrong in 2023? As long as it doesn't put anyone's life in danger, people can only work for money, money can be the only driving factor. Nothing wrong with it. I'm not rich so I'd choose an opportunity that brings in money. So the movie gets hypocrite/ironical certain times because it wanted to show the division between the elites and the service class as if the service class doesn't do things for money lol.

I love the creativity and uniqueness of the story, but when mixed with the message, it didn't make sense. If it was about how food is subjective and taste is subjective, and how childish and snob some people act because of this, like don't put pineapple on pizzas because why not? How does that matter to you what someone eats? Are you so easily triggered? Sticking with 1-2 subjects would have made much more sense. I'm not exactly sure what ingredient was missing, you see what I did there lol. But something, actually many things were missing. I understand it's a satire and everything is metaphorical, yet I think what happened during the climax was unnecessary. Even all the staff who were super loyal to the chef to the core that they were willing to kill anyone, didn't make sense at all considering everything in the movie. I also think they could have played more with the tension and mystery elements. Like I wasn't even nervous or tensed about the next scene that was to come. That's not a great thing for a movie like this. Movies like "Ready or not" "The invitation 2015" etc. Do it very well.

The Menu is a real treat. It will have you laughing while on the edge of your seat as it navigates you through a restaurant experience to remember.

We are treated to a fantastic ensemble cast. Nicholas Hoult steals the show with a pitch perfect performance of a pretentious foodie. Fiennes is so wonderfully unhinged as the mysterious creator of the eponymous menu in a very layered role. Anya Taylor Joy as always is so watchable, providing such an easy way in for the audience. The writing gives them all such brilliant material which the whole cast executes with ease.

The style and staging of the piece can't be faulted at all. It is precise, inventive, and so clean and polished which makes for a very visually appealing film.

It must be said there are a few rough edges when it comes to the plot, and when you get down to the nuts and bolts the premise isn't necessarily groundbreaking. It is very on the nose at times and subtlety isn't exactly it's strong suit. However it manages to strike a well tuned balance between satire, comedy, and thriller which isn't an easy feat and is impressively managed here.

With its sharp social observations and satire, clean style, and stellar performances, the Menu is a feast that you won't want to end.