Steve McQueen's 'Widows'

[kvz5]

This is getting raves with Davis, Debicki and especially Kaluuya getting the most mentions.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Toronto Film Review: Viola Davis in ‘Widows’

The strongest aspect of “Widows” is the way the movie gets us — and keeps us — rooting for its desperate-living heroines. They’re past the point of just wanting to have fun (the subtext of almost every heist movie); they’re less concerned with comeuppance than sheer survival. “Widows” presents that as a kind of deliverance.

 

[Mandon Knight]

This is playing at the London BFI Film Festival, in October, going to definitely book my ticket to see this 'early' as such.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

Nice to see this and Halloween getting such positive reception. Both are easily some of my most anticipated films for the rest of the year.

 

[Lencho01]

 

[Lencho01]

 

[Lencho01]

 

[Mandon Knight]

That horse be getting jealous now....

 

[Lencho01]

 

[InvisibleWoman]

Watched this one tonight in a packed cinema. Really good... dark and gritty. I think it's been adapted well to suit today's social/political climate.

Viola Davis is honestly one of my absolute favourite actresses. She could read the front page of the Daily Mail and I'd award her an Oscar. It was nice to see Michelle playing a softer tough girl. Elizabeth Debicki was a stand out.

Full of twists and turns and I was always on the edge of my seat because I kept expecting people to get killed off.

Spoiler

there was a audible gasp when Liam Neeson turned out to be alive

David Kaluuya probably played the best baddie of the year so far.

 

[samsnee]

First review is in and is very positive.

Steve McQueen’s thrilling heist movie Widows has more on its mind than a big score

 

[Lencho01]

How 'Widows' Transcends the Heist Genre
Why Widows Is One of Our Favorite Films of the Year

 

[Lencho01]

 

[scarlet-witch]

This was fantastic.

I'm curious how those of you who have seen it interpreted the ending?

 

[harlequinade]

ugh I'm in love

 

[InvisibleWoman]

This was fantastic.

I'm curious how those of you who have seen it interpreted the ending?

Spoiler

do you mean the moment between Viola and Elizabeth's characters? I kinda got the impression it was a throwback to Viola's previous comment about how they weren't going to be hanging out like BFF's afterwards. She clearly had a bit of a connection with Elizabeth's character and I think that moment was to show she'd changed her mind and wanted to stay friends. It was a moment of growth

 

[scarlet-witch]

Spoiler

do you mean the moment between Viola and Elizabeth's characters? I kinda got the impression it was a throwback to Viola's previous comment about how they weren't going to be hanging out like BFF's afterwards. She clearly had a bit of a connection with Elizabeth's character and I think that moment was to show she'd changed her mind and wanted to stay friends. It was a moment of growth

That's how I viewed it too, but I know it's something that could go several different ways.

 

[Stringer]

This was fantastic.

I'm curious how those of you who have seen it interpreted the ending?

Spoiler

I don't think there was much to it, even though I found it "happy" and appropriate. Veronica was finally over her grief for her son, closure with Harry and ready to start living again. Elizabeth best represents that as a friend. I think that was the only time she flashed that Viola Davis smile in the film outside flashbacks.

 

[Kane52630]

My review... and keep in mind I was so looking forward to it.

Spoiler

Honestly... this isn't the movie I expected from Steve McQueen especially how high it's rated on RT. This is like if Steve McQueen did a Michael Bay movie and Bay was in charge of the script. I will say the movie started off really great. The opening scene in here was incredible and they did a knockout job on giving you the setup. But after that... the movie just starts losing its sh** and becomes messy. It's split into two movies, one about criminality going into politics and the main plot of these widows trying to get the money that was owed. Both of them struggle as it goes along... it's flashy like a Bay movie, but there's nothing deep about it. One thing that is holding it together and is probably getting most of the movies praises are the performances. I thought Viola Davis and Elizabeth Debicki were great and had the most to chew on in terms of performances. I love Daniel Kaluuya and Brian Tyree Henry here, but they were playing cartoonish villains. Especially Daniel Kaluuya, who does some super villain sh** even Killmonger would step back and say "Hey man, you're taking this too far". As for story, If you're not the A or B plot of the movie, you kinda get the short end of the stick. A lot of the subplots doesn't really go anywhere. Despite the story not giving you enough about the plan, the heist itself I thought was pretty good, but it should have been longer and be the bulk of that last act. Also there's a twist in here that feels like it belongs on day time television. Overall, it's just not that good of a movie despite the little things I enjoyed in here. If you've seen Heat or season 3 of The Wire... or a telenovela, then you've seen it done better.

6.5/10

 

[CaptainWagner]

This was a really terrific movie. Terrific direction and really creative cinematography. Great performances all around. It's definitely going to be shooting for the ensemble prize with SAG. As others have said, Kaluuya was one of the best villains of the year, though I am disappointed in how they chose to end his storyline.

 

[Detective Conan]

Man, I wanna this flick so bad. Heard nothing but good things and will try to see it as soon as I can.

 

[MadVillainy]

I thought this was really good. I really liked the heist and I liked the tone, the look of the film.
Of course the performances were great. I think Davis and Daniel Kaluuya should get nods as should McQueen and the movie itself.

The main flaws I have are that:
-They had way too many side characters and side stories. Like Michelle Rodriguez when she meets that architect they kiss and then that's it. That doesn't play into anything later. They could've cut that whole thing. Then the escort subplot while important could've ended better. Basically they could've edited down the movie and gotten a leaner and even better film.
-Cynthia Erivo could have been integrated better
-Ending was a bit much "sugary" for me. At least the very very end.It also left me with a lot of questions

But overall, i really liked it. There haven't been many films this year that I loved. But this is one of them.

 

[Elayis]

I very much agree with Blackman's comments. The movie's quite good, but for me it didn't live up to what I've come to expect from McQueen and Flynn. There was too much going on and not enough screen time to flesh out the oversized cast. I think it would've worked better as a miniseries.

 

[marty mcfly]

Great story, great performances, probably about 25 minutes too long. There were a ton of scenes that were really nice and provided some character depth, but weren't really necessary to the story. And since this was a lot slower-paced than the trailers made it seem, it would have benefitted from being trimmed down a little.