Delayed Reaction: Terminal

Premise: Margot Robbie and some men play hitmen working around a train terminal at night. They all have secrets.

There's a style of crime movie that filmmakers keep trying to crack. It's the dirty, never fully serious crime movie, full of huge characters. Guy Ritchie made his name on these. Smokin' Aces was the first time I was really aware of it. John Wick revitalized it by making it a sort of meta-comedy. Hotel Artemis flopped hard doing it last year. I could open the definition up to include the likes of Sin City, Shoot 'em Up, and Free Fire among many, many others. I see the appeal. It's easy to sign actors when the only direction they'll be given is "bigger". You can mask budget limitations by drenching everything in primary colors and setting it at night. So, even when the movies lose money (they usually do), no one gets that angry, and the promise of a long rental life eases the pain.

I had no idea Terminal was one of these movies. Literally all I knew about the movie was that Margot Robbie looked cool in the poster and Hulu kept promoting it in my suggestions. The entire thought process that led to me watching this was "I like Margot Robbie. I wonder why I haven't even heard of this movie?" I'm no closer to the answer, but I liked Robbie in it. I don't think I've ever seen her have more fun in a role. Maybe Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, but I'm docking a few points there because those short shorts couldn't've been comfortable. Birds of Prey is coming up, and it will probably supplant this movie, based on the trailers. This movie is full of people like Robbie, Simon Pegg, Dexter Fletcher, and - yes - Mike Meyers really hamming it up. The movie is lit in such strong blues and reds that I think they deserve a character credit. It's the kind of thing you'd expect from a second unit director trying to make a splash with his first feature (And, wouldn't you know it, that's exactly what this movie is).

This was a great drunk watch on a Friday night. The plot is convoluted in a way that doesn't appreciate how little the audience should be expected to pay attention. That's fine though. I watched it for some fun Margot Robbie. I got some fun Margot Robbie.

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend