The reviews have been savage. “the worst film ever made”,
“The worst film I’ve ever seen”, “I beg you not to see this movie” are just
some of the reactions to Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in twelve years. Can
it really be that bad? Only one way to find out. Well, it is not the worst film
I’ve ever seen – believe me I’ve seen far worse- rather it’s an ambitious if
flawed work that feels like it is still in progress despite the time spent on
it. Maybe that’s the issue; perhaps too much time was spent on it? If we see it
as a movie that attempts to comment on the US and more widely the use and abuse
of power then it works to some extent. It is more in the delivery of that
message that it becomes an uneven watch.
