I watched this from start to finish without being drawn into the story at any point.
I think John Washington is miscast here, I had the same exact experience when i watched Tenet... found myself very disconnected as I he didn't seem to make a proper connection with the role he was portraying.
That is not to say the film isn't without issues. They have been fairly well documented by other reviewers so I'll not labour the points here.
My main issue is with the lack of emotional involvment with the characters. The film measures zero on the emtional richter scale, but more, the screenplay just doesn't manage to get you excited or involved with anything that is unfolding. Additionally, the characters seem to have little connection to each other. In fact it is only at the end of the movie that Joshua and Alphie seem to have any tangible emotional cohesion.
Contrast this with The Golden Child 1986 where Eddie Murphy plays Chandler Jarrell and the connection he makes to The Golden Child played by J. L. Reate. Here you can see what a great connection is established on screen and the massive difference in outcome it produces. Both films have two similar sets of pairings in almost identical scenarios with a stark contrast in outcome.
Additionally Thought the film is incredible to look at, much of what unfolds makes no sense. I'd liken this film to an iconic fashion show where the crowd Oohs and Aahs at the fantastic creations that unfold on the runway, that no one (bar Lady Gaga) would ever be caught dead in at a normal social event.
Anyway, for me the film was a big dissapointment, I can't say John David Washington was the cause of this since the Movie has many other problematic aspects, but the ones I've mentioned were particularly significant for me.
5/10 sadly.
