Los Angeles of 2028 is a riot laden area where Martial Law is the norm and brutality is a way of life. Amidst this setting, the Hotel Artemis is open for business.. The Artemis is not your typical hotel as it provides emergency medical services to members who engage in criminal activities.
The Nurse (Jodie Foster) runs the facility and with the help of her massive Orderly Everest (Dave Bautista), they ensure that only members get admitted and follow the rules as well as receive state of the art care while in the facility.
Guests at the facility are giving names based on the suite in which they are assigned which involve geographical locales and there are a very strict set of rules they must follow such as no guns, bombs, killing other guests, and so on.
The Hotel Artemis is not a simple stitch and bandage facility as they offer advanced medical services such as Nanites, replacement organ printing, robotic A.I. medical treatment and other services which in 2018 seem like Science Fiction.
Enter Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown), who has tried to leave his criminal past behind him yet was savvy enough to keep paying his membership fees at the Artemis all the while. He and his brother have been injured in a heist and with the city under a deadly riot, they make their way to the Artemis to get treatment and hide out from the chaos outside.
Thanks to their services, the hotel is rarely empty and an Arms Dealer named Acapulco (Charlie Day), and an assassin named Nice (Sofia Boutella), are also in residence. The fact that Nice and Waikiki have a past association makes things a bit interesting as guests are always mindful of those around them even though the strict rules of membership exist to ward off any threats or danger to the guests or staff.
Complications arise when the near capacity hotel is informed that the Wolf King of L.A. (Jeff Goldblum) is en- route. The Nurse opts to follow the rules of first come first served and in doing so enrages his son (Zachary Quinto), who decided to barricade the Hotel to make sure nobody gets in before his father, who incidentally owns the facility.
As if this was not enough of a complication, a police officer from troubled past of The Nurse arrives begging for help which sets a very dangerous chain of events into motion.
The film is a very fresh and entertaining story filled with interesting characters, strong performances, and just enough action to keep the film moving along but yet keeping the focus as a character based drama.
First time Director Drew Pearce gets the most of his cast and has used his script to create a very entertaining and unique film that is well worth a watch. It is so nice to see Jodie Foster showing us once again that she is one of the most gifted actresses of our time as the two-time Oscar winner goes all in to portray a very damaged and troubled character who for what she lacks in glamour; more than makes up for with a determined strength.
I hope this film is a success as I would love to see more stories from the Hotel as I really enjoyed the film from start to finish.
4 stars out of 5
Second Review by Joshua Aja.
In the year 2028 in the heart of riotous Los Angeles there is an oasis for the assassins, bank robbers, arms dealers and various bad characters that are injured. This oasis is a member only emergency room on the top floor of the Hotel Artemis. Criminals of all kinds pay for the privilege of having the Nurse (Jodie Foster) use high tech machines to repair their gunshots, smashed faces and all manner of injuries. The only thing that is required is that you are a paying member and you follow the rules.
Upon arrival all guests are giving room keys that also work as code names for their stay at the Artemis. When a massive riot breaks out, over the access to free drinking water, the Hotel is suddenly filling up with guests. Already occupying rooms are Acapulco (Charlie Day), a gun runner recovering from an assault that almost took out his eye, and Nice (Sofia Boutella), a skilled assassin “who only kills important people” and is recovering from bullet wound through the arm. The newest arrivals are Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown) and Honolulu (Brian Tyree Henry) who tried the use the riots to cover their bank robbery but wound up getting shot on their escape. A third member of their crew, Buke (Kenneth Choi), tries to enter but is denied due to lack of membership but it quickly denied but the orderly, Everest (Dave Bautista). If that wasn’t enough going on the Nurse gets a call that the owner (Jeff Goldblum) of this emergency room for criminals is headed in and needs the final available room. But his arrival will set off events that has the Nurse fighting to save the place she has lived and worked for the last 22 years.
This is the first film directed by Drew Pearce. He also wrote the film (other writing credits include Iron Man 3, Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation, etc.). This was an interesting concept for a film and better executed would have really been exceptional but turned out as a just okay effort. I really like the characters that Bautista and Foster portrayed. They were fun at times but also had a wide range of emotions. Some of the lines were cheesy but overall the performances of the rest of the cast was good. The film started out fast paced and then really slowed, before ramping up at the end. I would have preferred a little less of a drudge in the middle, especially with only a one hour thirty three minute run time. The movie really did feel longer than that. The action sequences were good and well filmed. This was a very stylishly filmed movie.
2.5 out of 5
