The Book, The Film, The T-Shirt
  • Home
  • News
  • Features
  • Movies
  • Books
  • TV
  • Gaming
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
Movies 0

Everything, Everywhere All At Once Review

By Dave Griffiths @goodbaduglyshow · On June 25, 2022

THE GIST

A simple laundrymat owner’s life is changed forever when she is introduced to a strange new world.

THE VERDICT

There seems to be an element creeping through Hollywood where some filmmakers seem to think that a film needs a ‘weird’ element to try and set it apart from other films that are currently in cinemas. We saw it earlier this year with the film C’mon, C’mon where the filmmakers thought that filming it in black and white would perhaps compensate for the fact that the characters are slightly unlikable. Now comes perhaps an even bigger crime against cinema – Everything Everywhere All At Once – a film that has an original storyline, some great action pieces but is ultimately ruined by some scenes that are just too weird for the average cinema goer.

Directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Swiss Army Man) the film centres around a family made up of strong but judgemental mother Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh – Tomorrow Never Dies), emotionally lost husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan – The Goonies) and daughter Joy Wang (Stephanie Hsu – The Path) who feels that she is constantly judged by her mother.

The family at hand is a family in turmoil, not only is Joy becoming estranged from her mother and father, Waymond  is looking for a way out and the family Laundromat is coming under intense scrutiny from the taxation office.

With all of that happening  Evelyn soon finds out from a Waymond from a different dimension that there is an inter-dimensional war going on and that she is a very big part of it. As she becomes more involved in this inter-dimensional rift though she finds herself becoming a ‘wanted’ woman by the authorities in her own dimension.

What we have with Everything Everywhere All At Once is a film that shows that even the most creative storyline can be totally destroyed by some simple stupid mistakes. The original premise of this film is great – a family internally tearing themselves apart with a sci-fi fantasy element that is as creative as anything we ever saw with The Matrix but sadly once this film begins to delve into areas of people having to insert items into their butts and a dimension of people with weird sausage hands the film jumps the shark in a way that almost makes it unwatchable.

How such creative filmmakers can fall into such a juvenile trap is almost incomprehensible. Early on the film contains such heart as it explores deep topics such a daughter feeling that she has been rejected by her parents through to a husband that is convinced that his marriage is over. The fact that Kwan and Scheinert can mix topics as deep as those with great looking fight sequences shows pure class – that is why it is so disappointing that the film ultimately becomes a farce beyond stupidity.

The shining lights in this film are the actors. Michelle Yeoh leads from the front with a brilliant performance that one again sees her mix heartfelt scenes with her family with well-choreographed but natural looking fight scenes. She is well supported by Ke Quy Huan who is called upon to play a range of different Waymonds and does an exceptional job with each. Last but not least is Stephanie Hsu who announces herself as a star of the future in a role that sees her deliver some of the more heart-wrenching moments of the film.

THE REVIEW

Everything Everywhere All At Once should serve as a warning to all filmmakers out there. You can the best idea that anyone has ever had for a film but you can let yourself down by going just that little bit obscure. Once again A24 show as a company that their films are either spectacularly brilliant or ruin themselves with unwatchable weirdness.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Related

Everything, Everywhere All At Once Review
Dave Griffiths
June 25, 2022
2/10
2 Overall Score

Dan KwanDaniel ScheinertEverything Everywhere All At OnceKe Huy QuanMichelle YeohStephanie Hsu
Share Tweet

Dave Griffiths

Dave Griffiths has worked as a journalist for over twenty years now -covering topics including film, television, music, travel and sport (with a main focus on AFL Football). That time has seen him host the popular X-Wired television program for seven seasons as well as write for various magazines such as Buzz Magazine, Heavy Mag, Stage Whispers, The Banner and Eternity.. He has even branched out into writing online for Subculture Entertainment, Media Search and The Book The Film The T-Shirt. He also worked as the online editor for Entertainment 360 for three years. Dave's radio work has seen him work on various radio stations including 3RPP, Triple R and Light FM. He is currently the resident film reviewer on Sydney's 2UE radio station and can be heard reviewing what is new at cinemas and on DVD each week on Wednesdays at 3pm with Ed Phillips. He is also the co-host of Melbourne's 94.1FM's breakfast show 'The Motley Crew' and he can sometimes be heard on J-Air's 'First On Film'. David is also the co-host of two popular podcasts - ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Film Show,' and 'The Popcorn Conspiracy' As far as Film Reviewing goes David is an elected committee member of AFCA (Australian Film Critics Association and a member of IPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics)/FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique). He has also served as a jury member for a number of international film festivals and is considered an expert on cult cinema, horror movies and Australian films.

You Might Also Like

  • Movies

    FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES Review

  • Movies

    CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD Review

  • Movies

    UNTIL DAWN Review

No Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe & Follow

Follow @thebookthefilm
Follow on Instagram
  • Popular
  • Comments
  • Tags
  • The Rise of Lockdown Streaming

    May 3, 2020
  • Salvo (2014)

    September 27, 2014
  • Penny Dreadful S1 EP 3 ‘Resurrection’ & EP 4 ‘Demimonde’ Review

    June 22, 2014
  • Pet Movie

    Spoiler Alert – Top 5 Horror Movie Twists

    March 17, 2017
  • warner bros. for her dvd collection

    Christmas Gift Guide: For Her – Heart Warming DVDs

    December 14, 2016
  • Win a copy of The Apartment on Limited Edition Blu-ray Courtesy of Arrow Academy

    December 23, 2017
David Griffiths marvel Ben Affleck J.K. Simmons Amy Adams Jai Courtney Lee Griffiths Hugh Jackman Chris pratt Scarlett Johansson Jason Clarke Daniel Craig Emilia Clarke Henry Cavill benedict cumberbatch Sky Atlantic Liam Neeson Ralph Fiennes
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure

ABOUT

Over opinionated and online. The Book, The Film, The T-Shirt was created for lovers of entertainment everywhere. We hope you enjoy it. Don't feed the writers after midnight.

Latest News

  • 3.5

    FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES Review

    May 13, 2025
  • 3.5

    CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD Review

    May 11, 2025
  • 2.5

    UNTIL DAWN Review

    May 10, 2025

SEARCH THE SITE

HIBS100 Index of Home and Interior Blogs
HIBS100

© 2016 Last Exit to Hollywood Media Limited. All rightsreserved. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”