The Fountain of Youth is Man Ritchie’s newest international treasure hunt film that’s one half Uncharted, one half Nationwide Treasure and all components unhealthy. Centred round a brother/sister pairing; washed up treasure hunter John Krasinski is pressured to work along with museum sellout Natalie Portman to guard their father’s legacy by discovering the legendary fountain of youth. It’s Ritchie in autopilot; missing the aptitude of his 90s British gangster movies and even the latest blockbuster work like The Man from UNCLE and The Gents. It simply feels boring – from the beginning; and that’s largely because of the casting – Krasinski has unfavorable chemistry with anybody that he is concerned with and him and Portman don’t really feel plausible as brother/sister.
The plot twists are too predictable and what’s coming a mile off; the situation scavenger hunts are boring and a approach for Ritchie to throw Apple’s thousands and thousands up the wall – that is Apple exhibiting how a lot cash they’ve once more by getting an Oasis needle drop and utilizing it in essentially the most eye-rollingly approach potential on the finish credit. It’s boring. It’s flat. It’s cliché – each a part of that is stolen from higher films and higher video video games; there are set-pieces straight from Uncharted. The characters have essentially the most threadbare characterisation – there’s a gifted child musical prodigy – why is he there, actually? No one is aware of – and no actual character arc is completed with him – Portman is lowered to telling Krasinski that he’s improper the entire time and Krasinski then lastly admits that he’s improper. The film makes an attempt to pressure a enemies-to-lovers romance between Krasinski and Eiza Gonzalez; who performs a personality intent on stopping Krasinski from discovering the fountain of youth – however Krasinski comes off as creepy greater than charming of their preliminary encounter and for some purpose, Stanley Tucci is there for 5 seconds? The plot appears like a torture to get by. It begs the query – why was Krasinski ever allowed to flee past The Workplace and switch right into a film star within the first place?
At greatest; he’s miscast right here. A rugged glory hunter – Luke Purdue is not any Indiana Jones – not convincing when he’s the assshole and never charming sufficient to look enthusiastic when coming head to head with the legendary fountain of youth about it being; the legendary fountain of youth. The dynamic between Krasinski and Portman is threadbare at greatest – Domhnall Gleeson barely registers as a dying billionaire in search of the Fountain; and the movie simply turns into boring – there’s no sense of journey; no sense of gravitas – no actual threat or daring that the Indiana Jones films had – Ritchie’s camerawork is protected, formulaic and predictable. Every part seems previous and drained earlier than it even arrives on display screen – and it’s arguably; the weakest Ritchie film so far. Which – after Aladdin, is saying one thing. With dozens of television exhibits within the works – perhaps he’s stretched too skinny?