Whenever there’s a sub genre that’s successful, Hollywood always tend to ride that success train as long as they can. Whether it’s sci-fi like Star Wars or superhero cinematic universe movies like Marvel, they will milk it until the cow is 100% dry. Even then, about five or so years later down the road, they will just find another cow to milk until that one is also completely dry.
Right now in Hollywood, what’s looking to be the next successful sub genre is with the concept of multiverses. While multiverse have always been around in some form for some time now in comic books, tv shows, and video games, it hasn’t really been presented as such on the big screen until now. With the box office success of Spider-Man No Way Home and Into the Spider-Verse along with the inevitable box office success of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we’re about to see multiverses from every major movie franchise out there like no other. It has already been introduced in video games as of late with Ratchet and Clank, Crash 4: It’s About Time, and later on in the future with Spongebob: The Cosmic Shake. There’s even rumors that the new Sonic the Hedgehog Netflix Series will have it’s own multiverse with it. Let’s also not forget that Flashpoint movie that’s suppose to come out when DC finally decides to release it or finally recast the role and dump that psycho Ezra Miller. While it has not made the impact yet on Hollywood, there’s no doubt that the impact is on the rise and will change the future of blockbuster cinema.
Meanwhile, we now have A24, the studio that is most beloved by film experts and most hated by movie goers everythere. The studio that is always guaranteed to get rave reviews by critics and a F on CinemaScore deciding to play in the sandbox of a successful subgenre just before it’s about to take the world by storm. However, unlike with 99% of media who has used the multiverse concept thus far, this one isn’t based off a well-known IP, this is it’s own thing.
This is a top to bottom original story with original characters using the multiverse idea to craft a mind blowing creative and imaginative tale on the meaning of life and nihilism. A film that uses the multiverse not to simply go back in time and hit the same beats of movies we already love, but go back to create interesting and unique beats of it’s own. A film that uses the multiverse to create some of the best and most inventive action setpieces you will see all year. A film that gives editor Paul Rogers the biggest challenge of his life of taking multiple different shots from multiple different time periods in the film and somehow have it all feel cohesive. A film that is basically about an older woman trying to be everything she can be all at once yet somehow is also able to be nothing at the same time. A film that basically tells us that this is Michelle Yeoh’s (and also Ke Huy Quan’s) world and we are all just living it! The film we have is Everything Everywhere All At Once, the best movie of the year so far and will definitely be one to top for the remaining eight months of 2022!
Synopsis: Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is an aging Chinese-American woman who is struggling quite a bit with her life. She’s running a struggling laundromat that is on the verge of bankruptcy, her business is being audited by IRS after she incorrectly filed her taxes, has a lesbian daughter (Stephanie Hsu) who is trying to get her new girlfriend Becky, accepted by her family, her dying father (James Hong) is making his way towards town, and lastly, her husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) wants to fill for divorce. This makes her business and personal matters even more troublesome when during a meeting with an inspector of the IRS (Jamie Lee Curtis), she gets interrupted by a Waymond from another parallel universe. It’s then that this Alpha Waymond explains to Evelyn that there are multiple parallel universes that exist and every single choice she makes can create a brand new universe of her own. However, the multiverse is in danger by the hands of Jobu Tupaki, originally referred to as Alpha Joy, who can control these universes however she likes and may just have a big connection to Evelyn herself. Evelyn must now master the powers of controlling these parallel universes and stop this Jobu from destroying the space time continuum.
How’s that for a premise!
Most of that synopsis don’t go past the first act but it’s quite astonishing how multilayered and far-stretch the film is willing to go with this premise. It’s not just filled with references and call-backs to movies that we all like (although there is a VERY welcome shout out to Ratatouille), it’s able to use this bizarre concept to construct an interesting and compelling story in it’s own right. The multiple different versions we see of these characters and also Evelyn is not just to show off fancy new visuals and set pieces (Although, they are nothing sort of amazing!), but it makes for a really fascinating character study on Evelyn herself.
We constantly see multiple different versions of Evelyn throughout the film and nearly every single one magically has it’s own arc that ties into the main character herself and gets a resolution of some sort by the end of it. There’s a universe where she’s a chef, a universe where she’s a movie star, a universe where she’s a martial artist, and even a universe where she’s has hot dogs for hands and fingers. There are plenty more examples than that but regardless of how many different alphas of Evelyn we may see, they are all in service of the overall arc that our main character goes throughout the course of the movie. Each one of them is referenced and is given a pay off of some sorts along with help gaining new abilities for Evelyn to use as the film goes on.
Evelyn is a woman that, regardless of what universe she may appear in, is suffering from an identity crisis. Regardless of what version she is, there is always something that feels empty inside of herself. There always come some sort of shortcoming that leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Whether it’s from her husband, her daughter, her father, or her main job, she can just never be the best version of herself. No matter what choices she makes or the direction she decides to go in her life, it always ends up hitting a brick wall.
This makes a terrific showcase on how far someone will go to find their purpose in life. They will try multiple different things and even do some of it all at the exact same time. Yet, they still feel unsatisfied. They try to be so many different things at once yet ends up not being much of anything. Or in the case of this movie, Evelyn tries to be everything at everywhere all at once yet that could be the exact thing that leads to her downfall. There are plenty of things we would like to be throughout our lives but it’s overwhelming to try to be all of those things at the same time because then you will likely end up with nothing when all is said in done. Despite there being many movies that have tackled the themes of identity and purpose, there hasn’t been one that has done those themes as fascinating as Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The main selling point of this movie is Michelle Yeoh herself and man, she has never been better on the big screen than she has been here. For a movie where she is basically asked to play over a dozen different characters at the same time, she is able to nail every single one of them without losing side to the version that she is playing at that exact moment. It’s easy to get absorb into her performance as we follow her as she takes a weird, cosmic journey to the unknown of the unknown as she discovers which version of herself best illustrates who she is deep down while also trying to save the multiverse from her own mistakes. Plus, even for a woman in her later ages, Yeoh is quite convincing in the action sequences, especially during the moments where she gains new abilities. This is the kind of movie that lives and dies based on how our lead does in front of the camera and man, does our lead absolutely kill it. If Yeoh is not at least nominated for Best Actress by next Oscar season, prepare for the Academy to lose even more credibility than ever before.
The rest of the cast should absolutely not go unnoticed here. Stephanie Hsu is a tremendous standout here playing as Evelyn’s daughter. It’s hard to go too deep into her performance because that would result in spoilers but she is absolutely captivating every time she is on screen. She’s a born movie star than I have ever seen one. Tallie Medel is lovely as Joy’s girlfriend. James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis don’t get as much screen time as the main trio of leads but do get their own moments to themselves with their characters. However, it’s the unexcepted but welcome turn of Ke Huy Quan that helps make this movie the most worthwhile.
You might remember Quan as a young kid where he played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Data Wang in The Goonies, but it’s so great to see him back on the big screen as a proper adult. Quan has stated that the reason he took a break from acting was because of a lack of Asian representation in movies but I really hope this one is able to inspire for more representation because he’s so good here. He does make a great counterpart to Evelyn’s conflicts she must face throughout the film as not just a husband who wants a break up but also acts as a starting guide to herself and the audience to the multiverse this movie introduces. He also gets plenty of exciting action beats to himself, the big one being one where he introduces the power and abilities he gains from traveling across the multiverse. I sure hope to see more of Ke Huy Quan down the road because the man more than deserves it. And also, did anyone notice that Randy Newman makes an uncredited cameo as *Spoiler*’s *Spoiler*.
The movie itself looks absolutely breathtaking. The Daniels were able to show off their kind of direction style in Swiss Army Man and their imagination shines even brighter here. While some might find the style to be a bit “in your face”, there is always a sense of reasoning behind every single shot framed and edit to make their unique vision fit well on the big screen. Editor Paul Rogers deserves MAJOR props with the way he had to put this whole movie together filled with multiple different versions of each characters in the movie and have it all be some sort of coherent. There are plenty of quickly-cut montage that could be overwhelming whenever you see them unfold but no doubt, Rogers is able to figure out the right mix with spinning so many different plates in the air at once. The costume designs by Shirley Kurata are inspired, the makeup effects by Michelle Chung and Anissa Salazar look great with all different versions of the characters, the action sequences are well choreographed and unlike anything you have ever seen in recent memory, and Son Lux’s score is mesmerizing and will likely be stuck in your head moments once the credits start rolling. Every single individual that was a part of this creative team deserve every single prop imaginable to make this film become a reality.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is a movie that feels like it’s existence at all seems like a miracle. It’s proof that there are still movie directors out there that aren’t afraid to put their own stamp on filmmaking. It’s proof that creativity and surprise is still possible for movies out there. It’s proof that you can take a concept that is sure to get tiresome soon or later and can still something worthwhile out of it. I have a handful of gripes such as a somewhat overlong resolution and a couple lines of dialogues that feels like it should have been SHOWN instead of TOLD by the characters, but nothing can take away the worthwhile time I had with Everything Everywhere All At Once.
It’s has if the Daniels are taking a great look at the future of films and decided to make a movie with a familiar concept, not to simply mock it, but show the best version they can of it possible without the need to neglect or devalue the ones that come before it or will after. I didn’t love Swiss Army Man as much as I wanted to but the Daniels absolutely sold me as unique filmmakers with this marvelous achievement. We’re only in April and I’m sure there are plenty of great films on the rise, but I’m positive I will see nothing like Everything Everywhere All At Once for the rest of the year.
Your move, Benedict Cumberbatch!
A couple of other notes:
- Sorry for the delay on this review but I’ve had other things going on along with wanting to let this movie sit with me a bit before completing this review.
- This is the first movie that isn’t a main blockbuster in recent memory that I could recall most of the crowd in my screening stayed until the very end of the credits. I think that’s a good sign with how the majority of audience will view this movie.
- I never thought I would need a Ratatouille sequel 15 years later but, here we go!
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