Review: Everything Everywhere All At Once

One of the greatest, and definitely THE most unique viewing experiencing I've ever had.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a new film from A24 by filmmakers Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.

What Is It About?

It follows a Chinese immigrant family who is down on their luck as they embark on an interdimensional journey across the multiverse to fight a god-like being that has become almost omnipotent through the multiverse. Our main protagonist is Evelyn, played by the amazing Michelle Yeoh, who is a woman with so many missed opportunities in life that she constantly feels unfulfilled wondering what could have been. Her husband is Waymond (played by future best supporting actor Oscar-winner, Ke Huy Quan), who is an optimistic, goofy, and lovable man who is simply trying his best to keep his family together. Their daughter, Joy, played by Stephanie Hsu, is a rebellious young girl who has a very strained relationship with Evelyn.

Okay, that is all I am going to tell you about the plot - because this movie is best experienced cold. The less you know about the plot, the better it's going to be when you watch it. I have never seen a movie that made me experience every emotion a human is capable of having. But I'll give you some things that I liked to entice you to give it a shot:

What I Liked:

• The Performances - Everyone in this movie brought their A-game. This is the perfect example of supporting actors elevating the performance of the main actor. Michelle Yeoh was at her best when her supporting actors were interacting with her. Ke Huy Quan was, by far, the best actor in the film for me. You may not know this, but he played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and really hasn't done much since. I smell a lot of accolades for him in the future. If you're a fan of Jamie Lee Curtis (and I know you are), then you're going to love her supporting role in this because it's so zany and heartfelt that it perfectly encapsulates the film's tone…speaking of which…

• The Tone - This film is absolutely hilarious. However, I don’t know if I can 100% call it a comedy. While the movie itself is so ridiculously zany, it works so incredibly well in tandem with its overall very serious message. What that message is…I'll let you experience for yourself. There are some bits that are so zany and out-of-pocket that it had the whole squad dying of laughter. Then, there's a scene where two people discuss the philosophy of Nihilism, contemplating if our lives truly matters on the grand scale of the universe. We'd go from laughing our asses off…to silently contemplating our own life's choices.

• The Fight Scenes - Holy shit, the choreography used in the fight scenes are so incredibly well-done that it made Marvel movies look like playtime. There was also a surprising amount of fight scenes in this movie, to the point where I could even call it an action movie in a way. By far, the most creative and fun fights I've seen in a movie in years.

How I Felt Leaving The Theater

It's hard to describe the feeling I had leaving the theater, since this movie had me experiencing every range of emotion. I felt happiness, I felt sadness, I felt existential dread, and then I felt everything all at once. It was kind of surreal at times, but at no point does it ever overstay its welcome. It's been a day since seeing it and I am still thinking about it. That NEVER happens to be anymore when I leave the theater.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I urge you all to give this movie a shot. It's a bit long at 2 hours and 15 minutes, but in no way do you feel like it's dragging. In the end, this movie made me so happy because it is exactly what I was afraid would begin to fade from Hollywood. Original movies made by filmmakers who are given full creative control with no strings attached and next to no intervention by a studio. Props to A24 for being that for the industry, because they have hit a home run with this movie. Everything Everywhere All At Once will, no doubt, develop a cult following in 10 years, so invest early while you can.