Well, that was weird. Awesome, but weird.
Have you heard of those movies that are originally standalone but are then reworked to be part of a series? Pretty sure they did it with a couple of Die Hard films. Anyway, Everything, Everywhere, All at Once feels like one of those movies that could have been reworked into a decent Matrix 4. It has all the right themes, all the right questions about identity and multiple versions of ourselves, probability, and above all: choice.
But, with the exception of a few homages, this isn’t a Matrix movie, which is fine because it easily stands on its own. It’s funny, weird, poignant, and… fresh. It’s not a Batman or Superman movie. There’s no cinematic universe. It’s downright novel in that way.
Michelle Yeoh, Short Round, Lo Pan, and Laurie Strode all shine in this movie, and I loved watching them play action and crazy and subtle one scene after the other. The only actress I was lukewarm on was Joy, but she came through in the end. I had even more appreciation for her after reading the trivia on IMDB that said Awkwafina was originally in line for the role.
More than anything, it was great to see Short Round / Data back on the screen again. He is definitely his own thing, and that thing is endearing. Even in 2022, his voice will take you right back to childhood.
There’s not much you can say about Everything, Everywhere, All at Once without spoiling the movie, so I’ll leave you with this: the hype leading up to the theatrical and home release was huge, my expectations were huge, and from the moment the movie began to the last second some forty-two hours later, it delivered.
Stream it on Amazon tonight for $20. It’s worth every penny.
