'Bad Times at the El Royale' Film Review: Chris Hemsworth and Jon Hamm on a Dazzling '70s Night

A mysterious group of strangers. An unusual location, filled with secrets. A flashback structure that reveals unexpected backstories for every major character. “Bad Times at the El Royale” plays a heck of a lot like the TV series “Lost,” and that’s probably not a coincidence: Writer-director Drew Goddard used to write for the show, and he’s filled this new crime thriller with many of the tricks that made “Lost” so great — and many the flaws that made it fall apart by the final season.

The El Royale Hotel is situated on the border of Nevada and California, and it’s a grand old place with lots of quirk and history. It’s the 1970s, and a priest named Father Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a salesman named Laramie (Jon Hamm), a singer named Darlene (Cynthia Erivo, “Widows”) and a drifter who signs the ledger as “F— You” (Dakota Johnson) are all checking in for the evening.

Goddard lets the opening of “Bad Times at the El Royale” run much like a stage play, with witty, conversational dialogue and lots and lots and lots of exposition. He loves his characters, and he clearly loves letting them talk. So it’s amusing to watch as the film undermines everything this introduction tells us about everybody. Each chapter of “Bad Times” focuses on a different characters and explains that they aren’t who they say they are, or what anybody else thinks of them.

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Needless to say, they don’t all spend a quiet evening reading airplane novels and then going to sleep. “Bad Times at the El Royale” is a tale of intrigue, murder, kidnapping, blackmail and many other crimes that can’t be mentioned without spoiling the plot. (Chris Hemsworth is in the movie too, and saying any more than that is also a spoiler.) Half the fun of Goddard’s film is watching how he parcels new information out in visually intriguing and sometimes misleading ways.

The other half is watching the cast take a big juicy bite out of Goddard’s screenplay, which never met a page of dialogue it wasn’t afraid to double. Bridges plays a smiling man of God with dark secrets, and he has a sad story to reveal to Erivo, as a singer afraid of never quite making it, who gets to sing beautifully throughout the entire film. Johnson isn’t the vicious criminal she first appears to be, and the hotel’s sole employee, Miles (Lewis Pullman, “Battle of the Sexes”), is eager to please, eager to confess, and afraid of something truly scarring.

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“Bad Times” may not be Goddard’s directorial debut — that would be the spectacular horror satire “The Cabin in the Woods” — but this is the work of an artist who acts like he’s still trying to prove himself. It’s a tide pool of a motion picture, filled with every kind of colorful life Goddard could think of, as though each denizen of the El Royale just stepped out of a completely different movie, and they all came crashing together over the course of an evening. There isn’t a single shot in the movie, no line of dialogue, that hasn’t been amplified for maximum impact.

It’s spectacularly photographed (by Seamus McGarvey, “The Greatest Showman”), every character is rich, and the soundtrack is spectacular. “Bad Times at the El Royale” is a heck of a lot of fun to watch, but it runs through its bag of tricks too soon. There aren’t enough flashbacks to play consistently through the entire film, so Goddard eventually has to settle down and let only one of the subplots take over the whole show when the final act rolls around.

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And like “Lost,” the mysteries are arguably more appealing than the answers, and there’s a decent chance that the storyline Goddard thinks was the most interesting isn’t actually the one that audience members will have focused on.

“Bad Times at the El Royale” is vibrant motion picture, in a way few films are nowadays. One might even call it indulgent, although “decadent” is probably more accurate. It’s a giant of declaration of love for these characters and every genre they inhabit, warts and all. And although it’s long, melodramatic and messy — there’s one character who’s clearly important, and about whom the movie completely forgets about — it’s nevertheless kind of rapturous to visit. For a while.

The Evolution of Chris Hemsworth: From Aussie Soaps to Thor to 'Extraction' (Photos)

It didn't take long for Hollywood to realize it had something with Chris Hemsworth, but Australia held on to this star-in-the-making for years. The Wrap takes a look at the short-yet-productive career of the only man who could rival Hugh Jackman for pure Aussie star power.
"Guinevere Jones" (2002)

Hemsworth's first screen appearance came courtesy of this Australian fantasy series, in which he appeared twice as the legendary King Arthur. Even then, it was clear that long hair was his look.
Renown Pictures Corporation
"Home and Away" (2004-07)

His breakout role, Hemsworth's turn as high school dropout Kim Hyde came about after he auditioned for another role, but was turned down. He won a Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent and, at the height of his character's popularity, competed in the fifth season of "Dancing With the Stars Australia." In May 2015, Hemsworth returned to the show as an extra after catching up with old friends on the set.
7 Network
"Star Trek" (2009)

For his first film role, Hemsworth appeared in "Star Trek" in the small but important role of George Kirk, the father of legendary Enterprise captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine).
Paramount Pictures
"Thor" (2011)

The Aussie finally broke out in America by playing Thor, God of Thunder, in the eponymous film. He won the role over, among others, little brother Liam Hemsworth ("The Hunger Games") and Tom Hiddleston, who was promptly hired to play Loki.
Walt Disney Pictures
"The Cabin in the Woods" (2012)

Filmed in 2009 and kept on the shelf for three years, "Cabin" was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike for its skillful skewering of horror cliches.
Lionsgate
"The Avengers" (2012)

By far the biggest film of the year, "Avengers" vaunted Hemsworth and the rest of the cast to the top of Hollywood's A-list. Oh, and it just happened to change how studios make movies for the foreseeable future.
Walt Disney Pictures
"Snow White and the Huntsman" (2012)

Hemsworth continued his 2012 assault with this fantasy film co-starring Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. Though the film received mixed reviews, it was a surprise box office success with nearly $400 million worldwide, further establishing Hemsworth as a bona fide star. He and Theron would later return for the 2016 sequel, "The Huntsman: Winter's War," with new castmates Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt.
Universal Pictures
"Red Dawn" (2012)

Yet another 2009 project that was delayed until it could bask in the "Avengers" success, this remake of the 1984 cult classic starred a pre-"Thor" Hemsworth in the role originally played by Patrick Swayze.
Open Road Films
"Rush" (2013)

Hemsworth earned some of the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of racing great James Hunt in the story of his rivalry with Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl).
Universal Pictures
"Thor: The Dark World" (2013)

Thanks to the "Avengers" afterglow, "The Dark World" vastly outperformed its predecessor in the box office with nearly $645 million taken in worldwide. Some critics were also quick to point out the growing chemistry between Hemsworth and co-lead Tom Hiddleston as an important factor in the film's success.
Walt Disney Pictures
"Blackhat" (2015)

Credit to Hemsworth for trying new things (like playing an expert hacker who happens to look like Chris Hemsworth), but "Blackhat" became, by far, the actor's biggest failure yet and was pulled from theaters after only three weeks.
Universal Pictures
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)

Another hit with audiences, "Age of Ultron" won Hemsworth a People's Choice Award for Favorite Action Movie Actor. However, the actor would later admit it was around this time that he had started to get "a bit bored" of playing Thor.
Walt Disney Pictures
"Vacation" (2015)

Hemsworth took a try at pure comedy for the first time with the remake to the 1983 Chevy Chase classic. Though the movie itself was panned, Hemsworth earned positive notices for his comedy debut.
Warner Bros. Pictures
"In the Heart of the Sea" (2015)

For a man who started a career based on how his body looks, give him credit for having the courage to do away with it for a role. To play Owen Chase, a sea captain who was stranded for months at sea, Hemsworth dropped forty pounds by eating only 500 calories a day.
Warner Bros. Pictures/Instagram
"Ghostbusters" (2016)

Hemsworth put his comedy chops back to work by playing opposite some of the best comedians working today: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. For playing a dumb-as-a-post secretary in a clever gender trope-reversal, Hemsworth received high marks from several critics.
Columbia Pictures
"Thor: Ragnarok" (2017)

Marvel finally realized how to utilize Hemsworth's comedic abilities for his most famous role: hire a comedy director. Under helmer Taika Waititi, Hemsworth (and the film) soared to new heights in the franchise, delivering what many believe to be the best film in the series and one of the best Marvel films overall.
Walt Disney Pictures
"Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)

Hemsworth follows up on "Ragnarok" with a co-starring role in "Infinity War," one of the most massive outings by any studio in movie history.
Walt Disney Pictures
"Bad Times at the El Royale" (2018)

Hemsworth teamed up again with his director on "The Cabin in the Woods" Drew Goddard for the strange and surreal "Bad Times at the El Royale." Hemsworth starred opposite Jeff Bridges, Dakota Johnson and Jon Hamm.
Getty Images
"Avengers: Endgame" (2019)

Hemsworth returned for the final "Avengers" movie -- which grossed an eye-popping $2.8 billion worldwide -- though his Thor promised to return for one more solo outing.
"Men in Black: International" (2019)

F. Gary Gray's reboot of the "Men in Black" franchise, starring Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, failed to launch -- grossing just $80 million domestically on a $110 million budget.
"Extraction" (2020)

In an action-packed Netflix film by "Endgame" co-director joe Russo, Hemsworth played a mercenary with a heart of gold.

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The God of Thunder has come a long way from his days as an Australian soap star

It didn't take long for Hollywood to realize it had something with Chris Hemsworth, but Australia held on to this star-in-the-making for years. The Wrap takes a look at the short-yet-productive career of the only man who could rival Hugh Jackman for pure Aussie star power.

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The Evolution of Chris Hemsworth: From Aussie Soaps to Thor to 'Extraction' (Photos)

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