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A Hologram For A King           review by Bobby Blakey

Tom Hanks is one of those actors who rarely puts anything out that doesn’t hit the big screen and end up scoring big. Every so often though, he shows up in a film that gets lost in the mx and usually gets dumped on DVD for whatever reason. Most of the time it is cameo style role, but his most recent A Hologram For A King is a Hanks film all the way and while I saw trailers in the theaters, but never saw it actually get a release. Could this be yet another great Hanks film or will it be clear why it got overlooked?

A Hologram For A King follows a failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company's product to a wealthy monarch. It wasn’t a big surprise that this film is good with Hanks giving the usual good performance you would expect, but there are some issues. This is a film that offers up two stories, but feels like it never fully commits to either. What sucks is that they are both great stories, but since they are having to share the same film neither fully gets the impact it deserves. On one side is this business man trying to get this impossible deal done in an unknown place. From the moment the film starts all of the humor, frustration and emotional struggles offer up a great story that you cannot wait to see how it plays out. On the other side you have a budding forbidden romance between Hanks and a woman that could have been compelling had it not been rushed and thrown into this film. Hanks and the rest of the cast all do a great job, but this fragmented story ends up really giving you an uneven film that never fully realizes its full potential.

While this film has its issues it is still a good movie worth checking out. Even in a film like this, Hanks still shines showing once again why he is one of the best actors out there. This might not have been one of his big releases, but it is worth renting it and checking it out if you are a fan of Hanks and lest be honest who isn’t? You can check out A Hologram For A King and decide for yourself available now on Blu-ray and DVD.

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