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A Review of “News of the World (2020)”

 

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A western cowboy era movie starring Tom Hanks. Cowboy type movies are sort of a dying genre nowadays but it was interesting to see legendary actor Tom Hanks star in one. Additionally, it was being directed by Paul Greengrass who directed some of the best Jason Bourne movies (and worst) and Captain Phillips which also starred Tom Hanks. The summary is “Five years after the end of the Civil War, Capt. Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks) crosses paths with a 10-year-old girl (Helena Zengel) taken by the Kiowa people. Kidd agrees to escort the child across the harsh and unforgiving plains of Texas. However, the long journey soon turns into a fight for survival as the travelling companions encounter danger at every turn – both human and natural”. So does this movie manage to achieve its goal or fall into the empty desert?

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The biggest praise has got to go to Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel performance of the main duos. Tom Hanks gives a subtle weariness and melancholy to his character while still containing compassion that feels genuine. Helena is a child actor so there was some scepticism from me but she delivers with some emotional and even heart-warming performances. The chemistry between the two actors is evident which is why it was such an enormous pleasure to watch both of them. Watching the relationship between these two characters develop from just strangers to that of a family is touching. The scenes where it is just both of them are some of the most enjoyable scenes in the movie and this is thanks to the strong performance from both of them. The supporting cast is really good as well and deliver an effective performance for their representative characters.

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The movie contains some great cinematography that makes the movie aesthetically striking and gorgeous visually. This is quite a feat considering that a majority of the movie is set in set in some empty fields but the cinematographer, Dariusz Wolski, pulls it off. It is also complemented by great set and costume design that looks authentic and pulls you into the era the movie is set in. The music score by James Newton Howard is also really strong and is effective in representing the scenes. There are some action scenes in the movie and they are very tense with no shaky cam that is seen from the Bourne movies. For the most part, it is a character-driven story but the action scenes are really good when they occur.

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However, the story is very predictable and even cliche. There is not a lot of originality in this movie and the story is pretty much a beat for a beat tale that has been told so many times before. You can probably guess what is going to happen for the majority of this movie. The heartwarming scenes while done effectively are also things that have been done in previous movies or games. You will see these scenes and feel like you seen them before. There are also some pacing issues with this movie as it can slow at times near the beginning and near the end. Some scenes didn’t add much and could have been cut to improve the pacing.

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Overall, the movie may be very familiar but it is entertaining nonetheless. Thanks to the strong performances and the visually pleasing design of the movie, it is still able to keep you glued to watching it. Under all of its layer, there is a lovely drama that conveys a meaningful message which honestly might be the news the world needs right now. 


 

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