I saw Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant in a 141-person Dolby Cinema at AMC Theater on Monday, April 24th, at 8:00 CT. I decided to go at the last minute and was getting errors trying to get a seat and almost didn’t go, but at 8:10, I could book my third and final A-List seat of the week.
Trailers Seen
- About My Father
- Big George Foreman
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
- Oppenheimer
- Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning: Part One
Timing
- Start Time: 8:00
- Last Trailer End: 8:21
- Start of Movie (after Dolby Cinema & Kidman): 8:24
- End of Movie: 10:20
Movie Start Delay (Dolby Cinema): 24m
Runtime: 2h5m
Non-Credit Runtime: 1h56m
Brief Review
Thank you, Dolby Cinema.
Based on the trailer, if this movie were on TNT, I wouldn’t even watch it. The fact that Guy Ritchie forced his name into the actual film pushed me into rage territory. I am not a military drama fan, as they glorify war and how awesome America is. However, there was a non-The Super Mario Bros. Movie film for one showing in Dolby Cinema, and after seeing positive reviews, I decided to risk it.
The cinematography and score belong in a Dolby Cinema Auditorium. There are glorious aerial shots, and the location for the most significant action set piece was perfectly selected. The action keeps you glued to the screen for the film’s first hour. However, when the movement stopped, I started to fear that this would be a tail of two halves. Although Gyllenhall is outstanding in both the action and dramatic portions of the film, I honestly would have preferred Gyllenhall not to have a family he needs to justify his actions to and get right back to the action.
The third act pays off with solid performances from Dar Salim and Anthony Starr.
If you like action and pretty things, see GUY RITCHIE’s the covenant.
Scores
Tom: 7.5/10
