Movie Review # 555: Amsterdam (2022)

Alright, so today, we shall talk about a murder mystery film that stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Chris Rock, John David Washington, and some other people.

Plot: Taking place fifteen years after WWI, and shortly after a female (Taylor Swift), and her father are murdered, doctor, and war veteran Burt Berendsen (Christian Bale), and his buddy, Harold Woodsman (John David Washington), along with their new female friend, a nurse named Valerie Voze (Margot Robbie) must solve who the culprit is once, and for all.

Okay, first of all, I will say that perhaps they could have maybe been a little more creative with this one by maybe having the story be that one of the people gets murdered, while the other one nearly gets murdered, and they still solve who attempted the murder. Still, for what we have, this is a very good film. First of all, after the semi disappointment of the remake of Death On The Nile, along with the remake for Murder On The Orient Express to a degree as well, Amsterdam is a murder mystery film that seems to be a film that maybe we needed for once. For one, this is a mystery film that has comedy. Sure, some of the humor may be crude, and the foul language being a little over the top like most R-rated films nowadays. Still, like I said, we have some comedy in this murder mystery film. Characters like Christian Bale’s character, Dr. Burt Berendsen, especially bring really comedy to this film. There’s also a really good storyline with this film. In fact, if you were not a fan of say remakes of Death On The Nile, or Murder On The Orient Express, then fear not. Amsterdam is a film that you’ll most likely consider superior to either of those, and maybe some other murder mystery films that have been released as of recent years. The score by Daniel Pemberton is also really good. Definitely captures the type of music from that time period, especially the kind that you would hear in a place like Amsterdam during this time period in history. Additionally, in an age when many movies take place in the modern day period, how could we not want a film that takes place at an older time in history. Not to mention that there could be a lot to learn from this film, like secret businesses, and plots that were going on during an era like WWI, and things like that.

Although those help make this film really good, there are some shortcomings for this film as well. First of all, the beginning of the film may feel a little too fast paced. In fact, there are some characters from the beginning that we could have gotten to know a little better, and yet didn’t. Not sure if this was time constraint, or something else. You got me. Finally, there’s an additional thing to mention for the characters. Besides the main characters Woody, and Burt, some of the characters end up lacking screen time. I’m not sure if this might have been because of the makers trying to cut some scenes, or some other reason. Either way, some of the additional characters end up getting sidelined, and don’t get developed as well as they could have been. There were also some elements of the story that didn’t seem to work as well, and seemed to be put in there just for the sake of doing so.

And that’s my review for Amsterdam. Is is a very fun film that, though sad at times, could feel a little heartwarming at times too. The characters are fun, and the story is very good, and fun overall. I would say see Amsterdam, and see what you think!

Final Grade: A-