Mortdecai (2015)

There was absolutely no rhyme or reason in why I chose the film that I did for today other than who stars in the film. So with that being said, the film that I chose for today was the 2015 comedy Mortdecai. The film stars Johnny Depp (Murder On The Orient Express) as Charlie Mortdecai, an British aristocrat and a shady part time art dealer who lives a certain lavish lifestyle that has gotten him into hot waters with England. You see Charlie owes the government 8 million in back taxes that have not been paid and he agrees to take a job tracking down a once thought to be lost art piece by Goya that could have some information on it that leads it's possessor to millions. The only problem for Charlie is that other people are after this piece too and he'll have to be quick. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow (Iron Man 3) as Johanna, Paul Bettany (Avengers: Infinity War) as Jock, Ewan McGregor (Harley Quinn: Birds Of Prey) as Martland, Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse) as Georgina, Jonny Pasvolsky (Picnic At Hanging Rock) as Emil, Michael Culkin (A Very English Scandal) as Sir Graham, Guy Burnet (The Feed) as Maurice, Jeff Goldblum (Deep Cover) as Krampf, Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration) as Romanov, Paul Whitehouse (Alice Through The Looking Glass) as Spinoza, and the film was directed by David Koepp (Stir Of Echoes).

I actually thought for the most part that the film was a lot of fun and while that might not make the film brilliant, it was enjoyable to sit through for over an hour. I have always been a huge fan of Johnny's and I always have believed that no matter how bad the film, he has rarely ever given a bad performance. I thought the supporting cast was also very helpful in making it what it was, but I was not a fan whatsoever of McGregor's role in the film. I am not entirely sure if that was the point or if I just hated his role altogether, but this was definitely one of my least favorite roles of his. Paul Bettany deserves some credit in this film as he delivers what is his Ponton to the Clouseau like character that Depp plays as the roles almost mirror each other, but the difference is Bettany's character Jock is more loyal and Depps Mortdecai is a little more spineless and they are not cops. I definitely think that without Bettany and Paltrow, I don't think this film would have been that good in the long run, but the film has some fun action and not enough of Jeff Goldblum. That was definitely one of my biggest complaints was that there was not enough Goldblum in this film who you don't even know is in it till it's almost too late. The film is available right now on HULU and while this was not my first choice for the day, I am not entirely disappointed. I am going to give the film an B-/C+ for a final grade.