Forever Rich

When I first saw the trailer I was struck by how immensely similar it was to a case in my country recently. Someone involved in the film must have read Swedish newspapers... After watching the movie all I can think is that they should have stuck to the true story. It would have been a more interesting film. It was still a decent movie though.

The plot of Forever Rich is confusing. You get the impression that whatever you do and it goes viral, bad or good things, you will come out at the end better. More violence backfires initially but prevails at the end. In his own way, the movie tries to justify violence on social media (the full Monty USA version). Richie (Jonas Smulders) outperforms most of the other actors but in general the acting is good. And nice character moments are built in. One problem is Richie´s duality. He pretends to be the bad boy but is he really bad? Or just stupid and narcissistic? The biggest problem are the plot twists. They are really messed up. A bit like the filming. The handheld filming is not clear and makes it sometimes difficult to follow the story. The conclusion is dashed, leaving big plot holes and question marks surrounding the fate of several characters, along with a conflicting message by the time the credits roll. I'm sure "violence solves all your problems" isn't what this film is trying to get across and yet, that's what we end up with. I am sure that viewers from the Netherlands and the Flemish part of Belgium will like the movie.

To put my review in perspective, I saw the original version of the movie (in Dutch and as I am from Belgium the experience will be different if you do not understand Dutch and have to rely on subtitles)

If you imagine a fake gangster rapper with no common sense who constantly lives his live by social media who gets robbed then exaggerate it by 5 you might have an idea what to expect.

Very poor storyline which seems to be very focused on exaggerated social media interactions which ruins it and stops it from being taken seriously.

I went into this film with very low expectations. I had heard almost zero buzz about it and most Netflix movies with no buzz around them are just awful. This one was a surprise hit for me though.

I do think an interest in Hip-Hop culture is almost a requirement to enjoy this film. This movie is such an effective critique about rappers/artists putting their fake public persona over their own humanity. If this this doesn't interest you though- I may pass on the film. It is the driving theme of the entire film.

This film has the kinetic energy and anxiety of "Uncut Gems" as you watch and the main character continually make frustratingly questionable decisions throughout the films entire runtime. There are a ton of cringeworthy moments that can be intentionally hard to watch. There isn't a dull moment to be had though and the performances and dialogue are solid and believable.

I do understand the poorer reviews this film is getting as well. The third act is filled with some of the biggest plot conveniences and hole you will see. You wait for some actions that should have significant consequences and they just... don't. It is almost done on purpose to create a fantasy element and I would prefer more grounded writing personally. The characters are not greatly fleshed out. There are some moments that just aren't fun to really watch.

Overall I think the film is a triumph of anxiety , action and suspense and it's in the top 10 Netflix originals of 2021.

A movie where everything constantly goes wrong is not a good movie, it's an overkill and it's predictable. This truly is one of the worst movies I've ever seen.