The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (43) | DVD (4)
If you're interested in a faithful visual adaptation of Wolfe's novel, be assured that this isn't it.
What a mess.
On film, Bonfire achieves a consistency of ineptitude rare even in this era of over-inflated cinematic air bags.
If you loved Wolfe's book, you may very well hate the movie. If you simply liked the novel, you may be simultaneously entertained and disappointed by what De Palma and Cristofer have done to it.
Certainly Wolfe's canvas might lend itself to a broad approach, but broad like Dr. Strangelove, not broad like the Three Stooges.
The film was cast wrong and written shallowly.
It's ultimately not difficult to see why The Bonfire of the Vanities was (and still is) regarded as an epic big-budget bomb...
Brian DePalma lapses into idle, slapsticky digressions. You don't get angry at what he's attacking, or defensive; you just get weary.
Tom Wolfe's widely read satire becomes a tedious farce, turning one of the year's most anticipated movies into one of the most disappointing.
Brian DePalma`s The Bonfire of the Vanities is a perfect example of how a best-selling book can be carefully altered, perceptively pruned and converted into an intriguing motion picture.
Reduced to pure plot, the narrative is not so much a sendup of 1980s hypocrisy as an orgy of banal, juvenile mean-spiritedness. The irony of Wolfe's book becomes shrill, screaming sarcasm, unpleasant, and, worse, unfunny.
In this heavy-handed and uneven treatment, De Palma drains Tom Wolfe's original story of its humour, and must shoulder the blame for its failure.
From Brian De Palma comes the satirical comedy The Bonfire of the Vanities. Based on an acclaimed novel, the story follows a Wall Street bond trader who's involved in a hit and run accident that becomes sensationalizes by a muckraker journalist. The cast includes Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, and Morgan Freeman, who all give solid performances. However, the tone of the film is inconsistent, as is the humor; it's not dark enough to be a dark comedy and it's not goofy enough to be a screwball comedy. Yet The Bonfire of the Vanities delivers some good laughs and is an enjoyable film overall.
Super Reviewer
Bonfire of the Vanities is not the tumbling shit-fest you've been told it is. In fact the film is pretty funny and shot really nicely. It's not without it's flaws, Hanks is a bit mis cast and Kim Cattrall is downright terrible. It's no American Psycho, but if you're in the mood for a bit of 80's satire, I'd say check it out.
In no way is it the disaster that most people claim it to be. In fact, it’s actually a very well done criticism of the 80s yuppie lifestyle as well as racism, sex and politics. You have to feel sorrow for Tom Hanks’ Sherman McCoy, who accidentally gets himself into the biggest scandal of the time. While he might be prejudiced, in no way does he deserve to be put through all the anguish that he is subjected to. I love the idea of the Jewish District Attorney trying to win the minority vote by charging an innocent man as well as his assistant who has no shame in getting all the false evidence he can gather. Melanie Griffith was amazing as an incredibly over the top seductress and Bruce Willis plays a great drunk. Brian De Palma does a great job creating a captivating set of shots that are both original and fun to watch.
Tom Wolfe's novel has been shaped into a trivial, cartoon-style movie by director Brian De Palma. This savage comedy is ridiculous and worst film with Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith I ever saw as well as their characters aren't very interesting.
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