News of the World

A beautiful film full of important ideas. Tom Hanks can't even do it any other way, and so once again he acts great and the western environment suits him very much. Paul Greengrass kind of gave up on being Paul Greengrass and pops his head up only a few times, but that’s fine, because the story is told one hundred percent skillfully, and however much the final quarter hour can be predicted, it affected me exactly as they planned. If you (didn't) like the slightly more melancholy The Homesman with Tommy Lee Jones, expect the same from News of the World. (10/02/2021)

More was probably expected from a Paul Greengrass/Tom Hanks collaboration. For me, it's a an unnecessary and uninteresting film that didn't bring anything new. It's shot well, acted well (Helena Zengel, after System Crasher, proves once again that she is on an excellent path). The stumbling block for me is the story, did Greengrass really have to choose such an uninteresting subject? Watching a traveling journalist in the Wild West is probably the most boring option available. It lacks action, emotion, drive, and tension – everything I like basically. Weak three stars for Hanks. Story***, Action*, Humor>No, Violence>No, Entertainment**, Music***, Visuals***, Atmosphere***, Tension**. 5/10. (15/01/2021)

A Greengrass film that doesn’t feel it was directed by him. A slow, deliberate and down-to-earth western where not much happens or is said. The main idea is appealing, the interaction between the two main characters is decent, but there is no sensation. A more restrained and focused version of the post-apocalyptic The Postman with Costner wanting it all and we know how that turned out. (17/03/2021)

Paul went out of his comfort zone into the prairie, where life is a circle, and you have to remember that in order to move on. A simple but beautifully constructed story, told with fluid camera strokes, that you've heard a hundred times before, but that the Hanks-Zengel duo will want to hear again and again. The film is a quiet commentary on America's brokenness and the need for kindness and acceptance of difference. It may not have any dizzying depth, but it's certainly Greengrass' most personal, intimate and moving work, and its simple goodness made me believe at times that the world isn't messed up. Hats off and I love it. (10/02/2021)

This tranquil western road movie may not have a substantial dramatic plot, but it does have a humanistic heart. Simply Hanks. Its aim is to again show the slightly different corners and characters of the old American West and its code of justice and hardships in a more realistic way than Costner’s The Postman :-). But Greegrasse’s touch isn’t very apparent in it. Did she really direct it? James N. Howard’s return to the genre is nice, but due to the film’s minimalist approach, we can’t fully enjoy it until the closing credits. (22/01/2021)