SummaryCultures collide when an American businessman (Tom Hanks) is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime. Baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy, he eventually finds his footing with the help of a wise-cracking taxi driver (Alexander Black) and a beautiful Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhu...
SummaryCultures collide when an American businessman (Tom Hanks) is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime. Baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy, he eventually finds his footing with the help of a wise-cracking taxi driver (Alexander Black) and a beautiful Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhu...
Given all the mixed and negative reviews here, I was surprised at how much I liked "A Hologram for the King." It's funny and serious and wonderfully unpredictable. The scariness of Saudi rule mixed with the absurdity of Saudi life. I was laughing out loud at the absurdity of Hanks' businessman's mission, the scary armed Saudi guard at his sentry station cooling his tootsies in a multi-hued kiddie pool. Hanks' character has to deal with officials who promise to show up but never do, and he triumphs over hostile conditions and also triumphs in love with a very evolved and accomplished woman. A lovely, satisfying movie experience for both me and my husband.
The best thing about A Hologram For The King is Tom Hanks. He does a wonderful performance as a down- on- his- luck businessman who is trying to get his life in order. If the title seems odd, so is the movie. The backstory of our main character is shown in very quick flashbacks throughout the run- time and while there is a plot about trying to sell a hologram machine to the Saudi King, it's not the focus. This is more or less a character study about a man who has lost direction in life. He meets many characters throughout who help him find meaning in his life and the film's conclusion is very abrupt. Unlike the recent film Demolition, this one better shows someone going through depression, while doing it in a lighthearted way. Not to mention that this is also quite hilarious. I laughed a lot throughout and the drama here made me care for this man. However, the story lacks focus as there are many subplots that go unfinished. In addition, there are a few dead- areas where the pacing is too slow. Overall, this unique film with a unique title about depression is funny, heartfelt, and has a great performance from Tom Hanks.
When it isn’t trying too hard to be instructive or jokey, Tykwer’s film fluently conveys the hard truth of diminished relevance, geopolitical as well as personal. Hanks’ portrayal of a man caught between utter defeat and a yearning to begin again is pitch-perfect.
This time, Tykwer somehow manages to turn Eggers’s attempt at an era-defining story into a weird little cross-cultural comedy with romantic overtones while remaining largely faithful to the original plot and dialogue. Here, globalization’s economic devastation is just a nice backdrop for some amusing – and, thankfully, inoffensive – observation of one American abroad.
Hanks brings to Clay a nervous energy, a sense of desperation to even his most outwardly optimistic of gestures, that nevertheless always seems tempered by a more sober inner awareness of his own failures. It’s a remarkable performance in a film that is unworthy of it.
Okay, we have your middle aged business man who has hit the wall of obsolescence. He travels to Saudi Arabia to do business so we have your typical American who knows nothing of the customs of the foreign country he is in. We have a typical Hollywood ending where he finds himself and a fulfilling personal life. But I gave it one extra point for Tom Hanks; he's just that good.
Who: Tom Hanks, Q, and Tom Skerritt as an unnecessary addition to the cast
What: 70 minutes of alright movie, 20 minutes of random topless scuba diving
Where: Tom Hanks' dream vacation
When (Can I watch again): When it comes on TV and there's NOTHING else to watch
Why: It's difficult to find a truly bad movie with Tom Hanks in it, and you won't find it here
After seeing “A Hologram for the King” the word that stays in my mind is interesting, not an interesting movie but for some interesting visual scenes.
Going from a man in possibly a middle age crisis to a story about a fish out of water to a West meets East tale the movie is all over the place. With Tom Hanks, America’s Everyman, that is if Everyman has a Danish female contractor trying to seduce him and an independent Arabian woman doctor becoming involved with him, the role acquires depth even if the scenes with his daughter (Tracey Fairaway) hold the film back as does the brief flashback scenes with (Tom Skerritt) his father.
The interesting visual scenes go from Alan (Hanks) and the doctor (Sarita Choudhury) in a swimming scene among coral reefs, wide spans of desert, a vision of what parts of that desert may develop by man plus the hologram(s) in the title. Now if only the movie had spent more time about the holograms it would have been interesting in a better way.
There are more scenes such as a high rise beautiful condo growing in a desert land that is being built by exploited foreign workers who offer a brutal way of life. There is also the introduction of Yousef (Alexander Black) who is more or less a cliché as a driver/guide, who is good but really could be eliminated from the picture without a loss except for about 20 minutes making the already short, 98 minutes, movie shorter.
“A Hologram for the King” does nothing for Tom Hanks’ career except solidify his likability while Choudhury is very impressive in her role and both in the underwater scenes are a delight as a couple.
In spite of the interesting visual scenes, and Tom Hanks, there is no way I can recommend this movie.
Just one incredibly bad movie. Hanks, for years has been one of my favorite actors but good grief he's bad in this movie. Why? I asked my friends, did he ever agree to make such an amateurish, unprofessional flick? It may be the worst movie of his long and great career.
Production Company
X-Filme Creative Pool,
22h22,
Fábrica de Cine,
Kasbah Films,
Lotus Entertainment (I),
Playtone,
Primeridian Entertainment,
Roadside Attractions,
Saban Films