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Friday, January 23, 2015

Mortdecai

Rated R / 1 hr 46 min / Action - Comedy

What is it about?

Follow the misadventures of Lord Mortdecai, a shady art dealer who is completely broke. He meets up with a collector to sell a vase, but the collector decides he is going to double cross Mortdecai. He also wants one of Mortdecai's fingers. His trusty manservant Jock gets him out of trouble. Upon his return Mortdecai is approached by an old friend from school who now works for Mi5. Mi5 Agent Martland needs his connections with the shady underbelly of the art world to help solve a crime and catch a terrorist. A painting has been stolen that many collectors want, and they all seem to think Mortdecai has it. The terrorist, the collector who wants Mortdecai's finger, and a crazy Russian collector are all chasing after him for this painting. Will Mortdecai be able to find the painting before it's too late?

You will like it if...

You like clever action comedies. It's hard to compare this movie to other movies because this kind of movie is very rare. There are many movies that are clever or try to be, like Now You See Me or Law Abiding Citizen. The action comedy genre is dominated by movies like 21 Jump Street. None of these have the zest for silliness that Mortdecai has. From a comedic aspect the movie is hilarious in spots, but in others the jokes completely miss or go over the head of the audience. They don't let Johnny Depp run too far off the ledge with the silliness, opting for a more intellectual humor more often than I thought they would based off the preview. Don't worry, there is still plenty of silly to go around as well. Gweneth Paltrow is fantastic as Lady Mortdecai, but while her character is critical to the story it still feels like she was underused. Paul Bettany isn't given many lines to work with, but he is constantly pulling Mortdecai out of trouble in the action scenes, sometimes to comedic effect. I enjoyed Mortdecai, but it's not for everyone. It's a hybrid movie that tries to do a bit of everything, but doesn't truly excel at anything. The melding of comedy, action, and story makes for an enjoyable experience.

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