Movie Review: The Menu

And, of course, in Hollywood, whenever you have an island, people meeting for the first time, you know something bad is about to go down

I’ll make you feel as if you’re eating the first cheeseburger you ever ate.

Chef Julian Slowik

Hollywood is dead, but it’s movies like this that keep me coming back. The Menu is a movie that perfectly blends suspense, dark humor, drama, and shock to deliver a scintillating movie experience.

Plot

The plot is a foreboding one. Eleven guests go to a restaurant on an island for a very exclusive dining experience hosted by a renowned chef. And, of course, in Hollywood, whenever you have an island, people meeting for the first time, you know something bad is about to go down.

The Menu runs for about an hour and a half. Although it starts off slowly, a quarter into the runtime, it hits you with the first punch and keeps you engaged until the credits roll in. At that point, the movie tells you how it will end, but that doesn’t stop it from teasing you until the very last moment. A very satisfying end.

Cast

Playing the lead is Ralph Fiennes, famous for playing Voldemort, and Anya Taylor-Joy from the Queen’s Gambit. Other cast members include Nicholas Hoult, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, Reed Birney, Judith Light, and John Leguiza. I can’t find fault with their performance. It was brilliant.

Rating

I definitely recommend seeing this at the cinema if you can. It has the perfect runtime and good storytelling and can shock you and make you laugh (if you appreciate dark humor). Of course, there’s also food in it. So it’s guaranteed to make you want to eat something fancy afterward. I know I’m definitely raiding the kitchen after I finish writing this.