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Kevin Smith FINALLY gets his mojo back in this one.

For the first time since Red State, or arguably Tusk, the film is shot with some sense of inspired visual creativity. The promise of the filmmaker Kevin Smith could be that was seen in Clerks II finally gets to fully bloom. The confused editing and flat cinematography that haunted Yoga Hosers and Clerks III is finally gone, and not only is it very pleasant to look at, but the slick charisma of Kevin Smith's characters has finally returned.

The worst offender might be that certain jokes and pieces of expository dialogue repeats itself a little too much for my taste, and the humor leans more towards the laid back low-brow style of humor prevalent in Mallrats, and less towards the frenzy of snappy zingers of Clerks or Dogma.

Where The 4:30 Movie truly shines, however, and becomes something truly special and memorable, is it's authenticity. The love story feels so personal, sweet and vulnerable, told with a unique voice that only Kevin Smith could pull off. The banter and chemistry between Brian and Melody reminds you of those truly charming, flirtatious interactions from Clerks, Chasing Amy and Clerks II.

Smith does something you might have never expected to see in one of his films, which is to completely let go of his dialogue on ocassions and completely surrender the film to the score by Bear McCreary, which gives it an eerie and bittersweet feeling of stepping into a nostalgic dream.

All in all, The 4:30 Movie feels like a beefed up version of Mallrats, with a very loose hangout movie structure that more than anything captures a vibe and a feeling that makes you go "You know what? That was very sweet. I'm glad you shared that with me, Kevin".

If you've been a fan of The Askewniverse since the 90s, and might've felt like he disappeared into a cloud of weed smoke for a while, I do wholeheartedly recommend you check this out. It didn't always connect with me comedically, but the voice you remembered that Kevin Smith used to have back in the 90s is so back, with a far more cinematically confident vibe this time. It starts and ends so strong, with scenes that most definitely deserve to be on the highlight reel of this man's career.

Everything you could possibly love or hate about a Kevin Smith movie is in here, and whether or not if you're fan, I think it's worth celebrating that unlike certain films he's put out recently that almost felt like a passive-aggressive attack on the audience, this is probably the first time since Zack & Miri Make A Porno that I can confidently say to myself that "THAT was a Kevin Smith movie!"

None of the playfully stylized and witty banter from the first one, and none of the creative camerawork or production value from Clerks 2. The subject matter of the script is interesting, but the craftsmanship is sloppy. It feels like they just rolled cameras with minimal attention to cinematography or blocking, then just asked the actors to improvise some curse words and pop culture references. There is an interesting story buried somewhere in here, but it is frustrating watching Kevin Smith basically fly on autopilot for the majority of the film. The majority of his story is just filler with cameos and montages. The comedy and drama is often very tonally confused and feels forced and incincere. For as much as he makes self-deprecating about his own skills as a visual filmmaker, never has it been more apparent than in Clerks III. The original two films stand as inspired and masterful examples of how to shoot film dialogue in engaging ways, while this one is more in the spirit of Yoga Hosers and aims for the bare minimum in technical execution with Kevin's "good enough" attitude.