Everything Everywhere All at Once

This film almost unanimously received praise from both critics and audience alike. People even exaggeratedly rank it as one of the greatest films ever or the best they've ever seen. Going into this movie, my expectations were really high And I really wanted to be part of the majority who loves this movie. But unfortunately the opposite happened and I didnt like it. While I appreciate that this movie was made on a relatively small budget and managed to get some things right as it had so much potential with its strong female lead, philosophical component and some good action to move it along. But it fell really short. It is long and meandering. Visually confusing, thematically unoriginal. The first half was repetitive, boring and also quite silly. Half of the time I don't know what are they fighting for or what the heck is going on. And what was supposed to be the multiverse just felt like the characters were wearing silly different costumes. It is not until the last act that things of relevance happened. The performance from the cast was great though.

Firstly I should say I thought the actors did put in some very good performances and I can see why they were nominated although as to whether they deserved to beat some of their competitors is another matter.

I have to say I found this film to be tedious and almost unenjoyable to watch. It feels like a film made for the TikTok generation - no overall coherence with nuggets of scenes rammed together. Is this a film I would ever bother watching again - absolutely not.

Yes it is different - in much the same way The Artist was (and who talks about that film anymore?) but that doesn't make it good. It aims for a profound message whilst its style is overwhelmingly superficial. It's a film with little artistic merit or dare I say beauty (I am talking about the scenes and cinematography here not the actors) and it definitely did not move me except to pray it was going to finish.

In short it barely ticks the boxes of what I'd consider to be essential criteria for a great movie. Maybe this is the first of a new wave of this type of film and I am not getting it but when it had finished I felt pretty much nothing.

Having seen countless raving reviews about this movie both on IMDb, and even more so on Twitter, I thought "damn, I have to go see this ASAP". I went in expecting something incredible, movie of the year standard, but wow was I disappointed.

Literally 75% of the movie is fight scenes, like okay it was cool at the start but 2 hours in and still?? 'Everything Everywhere' is perfect for people with a short attention span because there's always something ridiculous going on. I understood what they were trying to do with the plot but honestly nothing stuck, it just felt shallow.

Don't get me wrong it's not a bad film, but it's nowhere near these 10/10 reviews that's being advertised.

Starting with what I did enjoy about this movie.

1. The setting of this movie was indeed a more accurate representation of an Asian American household. The family dynamics sounds about right. I like that Asians are getting more spotlight.

2. The concept/theme of this movie is rather novel and therefore interesting. Although I think it could have been played out much more sophisticatedly.

3. The parent-child relationship is well portrayed. The perceived lack of validation from parents felt by the child, the poorly communicated love of the parent, the process of gaining awareness and emotional growth for both the parent and child is inspiring.

Things I didn't like 1. It is a very bizarre movie, you could even say chaotic. It's as if they tried to combine every single meaningless detail together and gave up filtering out what's actually worth or necessary to the main plot. Tried too hard to make it funny/original/emotional/relatable that it ends up being neither of those things very well.

2. The movie is also unnecessarily long.

Those two points combined makes this movie just a long, confusing, and sometimes boring mess. The novelty makes it watchable/bearable, but to me, it's nothing more than that.

At some point in the last decade, cinema collectively decided that more is more. More movement, more colour, more genres crammed into one film. This movie epitomises that philosophy: pure, unfiltered chaos masquerading as profundity. It's action, comedy, sci-fi, family drama, absurdist theatre, and a philosophy lecture, all happening at once. And yet, somehow, it still manages to feel empty.

There's no denying the technical ambition. The editing is frenetic, the cinematography playful, the performances fully committed. Michelle Yeoh is brilliant, and Ke Huy Quan's sincerity provides the emotional backbone. The sheer number of visual gags, rapid-cut fight sequences, and surreal concepts is impressive on paper. But the question is, does it all add up to something meaningful?

The film touches existential themes- nihilism, generational trauma, the overwhelming weight of infinite possibilities. But it never truly settles, because settling is not in its nature. Instead, it constantly shifts gears, throwing another absurd joke, another action sequence, another universe into the mix. The emotional beats are there, but they fight for space in a film that refuses to slow down.

And that's where it stumbles. There's a point where maximalism becomes a distraction rather than a tool. The over-reliance on absurdity starts to feel less like a creative choice and more like an avoidance tactic, style suffocating substance. The visual effects, while inventive, often look cheap. The action, initially exhilarating, overstays its welcome. The sentimentality, while heartfelt, struggles to resonate when surrounded by hot dog fingers and googly eyes.

Then there's the Oscars. Seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, and three acting awards. A historic sweep for a film that, for all its originality, still feels like an unconventional choice for such conventional recognition. Will it be remembered as a defining film of the decade, or as a momentary fascination? Hard to say. I can respect its meaning, I just found it difficult to get through without getting bored. Also not as emotional as it was painted out to be! 5.8/10.