Mortdecai

Johnny Depp in yet another flamboyant and outlandish role? Of course! Depp has certainly found his niche and makes very few trips to other genres. Mortdecai, is an art dealer who found himself in some financial trouble and as a result accepts a contract job with the government to recover a stolen painting. The film then takes its viewers on a bizarre journey that rarely contained moments of sanity. Directed by David Koepp with a screenplay by Eric Aronson, Mortdecai was poorly received by critics. And whilst I do enjoy Depp in some roles, I cannot help but agree that this film was one of his worst. In fact, there were very few redeeming qualities in the film that boast such a great cast of Hollywood heavyweights. Dubbed a flop by popular review sites, I'm thankful I skipped this film at the cinema and opted for free home viewing instead.

The strange subplot focusing on the character Mortdecai's moustache, was bizarre but I suppose it was necessary in displaying his ostentatious and extravagant nature. For some reason the moustache carries more importance to the films plot than basic character development. The viewer is thrown into Charlie Mortdecai's world and promised a lavish journey, by a poorly executed voice over, that never quite comes to fruition.

I couldn't help but be distracted throughout by the varying, faulty accents. With Depp's accent thrust in my face, or rather my ears, every few minutes with the relentless voiceover, it was hard not to notice how inconsistent it was. At this point, I would also like to mention how unnecessary the voice over truly is. Used to provide backstory and occasional description of the action seen on screen, Mortdecai's voice over is one of the worst I've witnessed in a while! But when accompanied by an accent that changes almost on a scene by scene basis, I very quickly regretted my choice of evening entertainment.

I will admit however that I chuckled a few times. No more than maybe five small laughs during this two hour flop. The real comedy within the film comes from the leading characters ludicrously stupid behaviour and comments. In particular, I found myself strangely amused when he was atop of a car bonnet during the film's first proper fight scene at the mechanic Spinoza's workshop. Equally, the small comments and mannerisms perfected by Depp were occasionally pretty funny. Then again, I'm sure my exhausted state contributed to jokes that might not have otherwise been funny to me.

Don't waste your time on this film unless you're easily amused or incredibly bored.