Film: Fountain of Youth

 

GENRE: Action Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence and brief language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 5 minutes
PLATFORM: Apple TV+
STARRING: John Krasinski (The Office, Jack Ryan, A Quiet Place)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Thor); Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars 7-9)
DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Sherlock Holmes, The Gentlemen)
WRITER: James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, Amazing Spider-Man, Scream VI)
PLOT: Siblings join forces to find the Fountain of Youth, Indy-style.        

FULL DISCLOSURE: Looked like an Indiana Jones knock-off.

STORY STUFF: There are some good attempts to go all Indiana Jones or at least National Treasure but it falls short unfortunately. The sibling angle didn’t work for me. I like when they are trying to solve mysterious clues which has some good moments but when they get closer to the fountain, they seem to know exactly what to do without much thought. There are a couple good action sequences but nothing ‘wow’. It’s okay as a popcorn movie if you happen to subscribe to Apple.

ACTING STUFF: I like Krasinski as Jack Ryan, so I like his action stuff, but he is too goofy here and trying too hard for the Harrison Ford charisma. Portman doesn’t get much to do either except be a stick in the mud. Stanley Tucci (Devil Wears Prada) is always a welcome presence but he is barely in this; I don’t know why he signed on in the first place. I was also confused about Arian Moayed’s (Succession) role in this film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The action is okay. The special effects are okay. Everything is just okay.

VERDICT: Two and half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You just want a film you don’t have to think too much about.
UPCOMING REVIEW: The Phoenician Scheme