Plot: What’s it about?
The multiverse. Bagels. Raccoons.
You can only hear so much about one movie before curiosity gets the best of you. Case in point we’ve got perhaps the most aptly-titled film in years with Everything Everywhere All at Once. If that title doesn’t set the bar pretty high, I don’t know what does. I try to go into films, particularly ones that are “critically-acclaimed”, with a very open mind and not knowing a thing about them. I managed to do that here and I’m happy that I stuck to my guns. But before we delve into the plot, it’s important to note that the directors of this movie, henceforth referred to as “The Daniels” know what they’re doing. They’d made a film a few years back which I found a LOT more enjoyable than I’d have thought. The title: Swiss Army Man starring Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe. The character was a combination between “Bernie” from Weekend at Bernies and, well…I don’t know what else. He had Gastrointestinal issues as well. We’ll leave it at that. Let’s take a trip through the multiverse.
We meet Evelyn (Michello Yeoh) who runs a laundromat and has some rather colorful nicknames for her customers (both good and bad). She’s not that happy and this has led her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) filing for divorce. To further complicate matters, she’s trying to get her judgmental father, Gong Gong (James Hong) from finding out that her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) is a lesbian. Before she can deal with that, however, she has to lock horns with a nasty IRS agent – Deidre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis) and get her taxes in order. However in transit to the IRS office, Waymond’s body has been taken over and he informs Evelyn that there’s a multiverse. Every single choice she makes will cause a new branch of it to form. Adding more fuel to the fire, the multiverse is being threatened by an evil entity – Jobu Tupaki and it has taken the form of Joy. Evelyn if the only person who can stop her and to do this she needs to jump across the various multiverses to access her wealth of powers. Along the way, she sees herself in different ways of life.
Truthfully this film could have been six hours long and I’d have probably still been entertained. I love films about time, alternate realities and so forth. And I’m always in favor of seeing something truly original – even if “multiverse” movies are a bit en vogue these days. My eyes lit up when I heard Ke Huy Quan’s voice. Even before I saw the actor I said to myself “that’s Short Round from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data from The Goonies.” Oddly the actor is now in his 50’s and looks and nearly sounds the same and even more odd is that he hasn’t had a major role in nearly two decades. Given the success of this film, I thin we’ll see more of him. Circling back to the film, it’s one that’ll require a few viewings. It’s also one that I wouldn’t mind watching again. The Daniels get a tip of my hat to creating something truly unique and “out there.” I enjoyed this one. And if this genre of film is your thing – you will to.
Video: How’s it look?
Given the nature of the film, it’s hard to really classify how this truly looks. That’s a bit misleading, I realize, as it’s all part of the same cohesive film, but with the various different “universes” some have a unique look and feel. The film also employs different aspect ratios with some scenes being presented in 2.39:1 and others in a more traditional 1.85:1. What I will say is that this 4K image looks spot on. It’s nearly perfect. There seem to be a few instances in which the image appeared a bit soft, but it might have just been me. Colors pop, detail is off the charts (Jamie Lee Curtis has certainly looked better) and there’s even an animated sequence to mix things up more.
Audio: How’s it sound?
A perfect compliment to the disc’s visuals is the Dolby Atmos soundtrack. There are some films that take advantage of this and others, well, don’t. This is one of the former. Every time we encounter a new multiverse there’s a giant “whoosh” that accompanies it. I like this effect. There are fights, buildings are destroyed and it all sounds great! Vocals are, of course, rock solid. I caught several atmospheric effects that really seemed to up the ante. In a nutshell, this is sound done right.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – Writers/Directors Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (aka “The Daniels”) give us everything we wanted or needed to know about the film, its inspiration and etymology. They’re razor sharp with their comments and this is must listen for any true fan of the film.
- Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Everything Everywhere All At Once – Not to be outdone, this 40 minute segment has its own “hidden” secrets as we learn even more about the film from The Daniels as well as members of the cast and crew.
- Putting Everything on a Bagel: Cooking up the Multiverse – This is, essentially, more of the same as the above. We get The Daniels as they discuss the story, the cast and everything in between.
- Deleted Scenes – We get nearly 15 minutes’ worth of deleted scenes with some optional commentary by The Daniels. Given the 2+ hour running time, these were wisely cut.
- Outtakes
- Music Visual
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
I can see where this film won’t be for everyone. But I loved it. If films like Parasite or Into the Spider-Verse are your thing (how about those two references!) then there’s no reason you won’t enjoy this. This features a great-looking picture, amazing sound and enough supplements to warrant a purchase.
