Movies in Review: "Collateral Beauty"

When I watched the trailer for this film I seriously got chills. There was something about the trailer that captured my attention, besides the fact that it starred Will Smith, and a few of my other favorite actor/actresses. I loved the marketing for this film, and it was the movie I was looking forward to seeing the most. However when checking for show times on Fandango I noticed that Rotten Tomatoes was rating this film a 14% Rotten...Nooooooooo!!! I was not expecting that. I can't see how a film with a cast as strong as this film could ever get a rating so low. I admit the rating put a damper on my expectations for the film, but I went in feeling like Rotten Tomatoes is a hater and I should trust anything they say! Lol...

Ummmmmmm...I was seriously at a loss when watching this movie because it was nothing like I had expected. I was expecting good film that was centered on a profound message I could take away from the movie, but no such thing happened. This movie was so odd. With a 90min running time, there wasn't enough time to character development for all the actors in the film. There were too many characters, and subplots that went with each character. I think the film would have been better if Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, and Michael Pena's characters were removed. The story could have used maybe one of them at the most, but the others took away screen time that should have been spent on Will Smith and Naomie Harris's characters, as well as the characters Love, Time and Death. I didn't really get much from Smith except in the last 20-30 min of the film. Most of the movie he was riding around on his bike, and not saying much ~shrugs. However I loved every scene he shared with Naomie Harris, and Harris's performance was my favorite. I thought Love, Death, and Time would have a more profound impact on the film, but they had very few scenes. 

There was so much death in this film that it was hard to see the beauty. There was humor injected in a movie that felt so heavy it just felt odd. I wanted to like this movie, but I just didn't get it. Can someone please explain the ending and Helen Mirren's character to me? The ending was a little predictable and very silly at the same time, but mostly because there was a lack of development for the story ~shrugs. I didn't hate it as much as Rotten Tomatoes, but I can't say I loved it either...C+