News of the World

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. (2021-02-10)

I certainly didn’t expect a slow western about people from Paul Greengrass. The dynamic directing with the shaky camera, so typical for his work, is gone. Hanks’ Captain Kidd spends his time riding from city to city, reading his newspaper to the folks there, taking an orphan girl to her surviving family in Texas that he came across during his travels. There is precisely one action scene in this movie and it works excellently, even though there aren’t many bullets, if you disregard the horse bolting, nothing dramatic happens. But the power of this movie lies in the girl’s final dialog with a friend from school and in the little scenes when the girl sings to herself when grooming the horse. A very unusual western which, while not coming up with anything new, certainly doesn’t offend. (2021-02-22)

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. (2021-03-17)

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. (2021-01-15)

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. (2021-02-10)