Everything Everywhere All At Once
review by Bobby Blakey
Michelle Yeoh has been kicking major ass for years, but over the last couple years she has been showing up in a bigger variety of stuff including Star Trek: Discovery, Crazy Rich Asians, Shang-Chi and more. Her latest film Everything Everywhere All At Once looks to be her most ambitious and fun role yet. The film features a great supporting cast including Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis. Could this film bring the fun energy it promises or will it fail to find its own reality?
Everything Everywhere All At Once follows Evelyn Wang, a flustered immigrant mother who is contacted from a parallel universe and told that only she can save the world. The unlikely hero must learn to channel her newfound powers and fight through the splintering timelines of the multiverse to save her home, her family, and herself in this big-hearted and irreverent adventure.
I have been eager to see this movie from the moment I saw the first trailer. I was so happy to hear all the praise for the film which of course made me want to see it all the more, but got me concerned because often times the hype is overstated. I am happy to say the hype is real and this movie is all kinds of ridiculous genius and I could not have loved it more.
The film is a chaotic mash-up of the multiverse, The Matrix, Ratatouille, martial arts, comedy, sci-fi and a family drama all wrapped in a nice big bow of brilliance. There have been films in the past that have tried to infuse so many genres and craziness and it rarely works, but this film walks that line perfectly. The varying universes are all crazier than the next and could have easily taken you out of the flow of the film, but they are all so clever and well executed that they just enhance the overall experience.
The cast are all on point with the always awesome Michelle Yeoh carrying the biggest load and knocks it out of the park. She takes on so many different personalities and looks, but manages to make them flow together perfectly. She is in top form and I love getting to see her flex both her acting and martial arts like never before. Side by side with her is the amazing return to the big screen from Ke Huy Quan that fans would know as Short Round from Temple of Doom. He is so good here as well bringing the love and innocence to his character while also getting to kick some ass.
Big props to Jamie Lee Curtis for going all in with this role both in her performance, but even more so the overall look. She is there for it all and really nails it at every turn. Stephanie Hsu does a great job alongside all these powerhouses with her wide variety of personas and depth she had to bring to make it all work. Rounding out the main cast with the iconic James Hong just put the exclamation mark on the whole thing.
Underneath this chaotic action filled bizarre world is a pretty deep story about family. They are dealing with so many issues across the board from marriage issues, parenting, sexuality, judgement, acceptance and love. Much like the rest of the insanity all of these things are also balanced to perfection and make for an amazing movie that fully deserves all the praise it’s been getting. I can only hope that it finds its way into the nominations when award season kicks off because it fully deserves it in a variety of categories.
In addition the film this release offers up bonus content including commentary, outtakes, trailer, deleted scenes, featurettes and more. Grab your copy of Everything, Everywhere All At Once when it hits digital, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on July 5th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment.