A Man Called Otto

Columbia Pictures | Release Date: December 30, 2022

6.8	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 63 Ratings

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JLuis_001Dec 30, 2022

Tom Hanks recently stated that he had only made four very good films in his career and, jokes aside, he's not helping himself much in that regard with roles like this one.
Especially falling short of what the original Swedish film achievedTom Hanks recently stated that he had only made four very good films in his career and, jokes aside, he's not helping himself much in that regard with roles like this one.
Especially falling short of what the original Swedish film achieved with such little and ease.

A Man Called Otto is a story you can easily get into, but evidently it will never be believable enough.
This is mainly because it all comes down to Tom Hanks' character.

He is an excellent actor and although his character is not supposed to be charismatic, he knows how to sell it perfectly, but at the end of the day there's very little to go to, and beyond any predictability, if the character doesn't overcome a certain barrier with the viewer, and by that I mean that you fall for his whole attitude, then the movie will do very little for you.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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bored13Jan 5, 2023

Doesn't quite connect. Good chemistry with the cast but overall the pacing and structure is very off putting. The flashbacks...

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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bertobellamyDec 30, 2022

After a year of terrible roles, Tom Hanks finally delivers us a more or less decent one. 'A Man Called Otto' is nothing extraordinary, but it certainly could have been worse. Although the story falls into melodrama — especially during theAfter a year of terrible roles, Tom Hanks finally delivers us a more or less decent one. 'A Man Called Otto' is nothing extraordinary, but it certainly could have been worse. Although the story falls into melodrama — especially during the insufferable flashbacks —, the chemistry between the veteran actor and Mariana Treviño — who looks comfortable and confident in her role — becomes the heart of the film; the bond they have generates some funny situations. Director Marc Forster and his team take a safe approach, resulting in a flat but entertaining film. A shorter duration would undoubtedly have been better… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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AmblerEdwardJan 13, 2023

This was a decent film but I question casting Tom and Rita casting Tom as Otto. We just saw Tom portray Mister Rodgers in this same city Pittsburgh. This film was almost as if Mister Rodgers had gotten dementia and turned into an angry,This was a decent film but I question casting Tom and Rita casting Tom as Otto. We just saw Tom portray Mister Rodgers in this same city Pittsburgh. This film was almost as if Mister Rodgers had gotten dementia and turned into an angry, bitter, hopeless man. A better actor selection would have given this film less of a distraction and ask for the audience. How about Ed Harris, Paul Giamanti, Michael Keaton, Chris Cooper or David Straithairn to name a few. This film was like Gran Torino Light in many ways. I get that his life was confined but they couldn't have shown the same house or street in the context of the neighborhood or an overhead view. Very short on locations for a city rich for a cinematographer to film.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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Mauro_LanariMar 18, 2023

(Mauro Lanari)
Mr and Mrs Hanks produce a consolatory, pleasurable and feel-good movie packaged in a blatantly ruffian, manipulative and tear-jerking way. However, the survivor syndrome as a basic idea differentiates it from apparent(Mauro Lanari)
Mr and Mrs Hanks produce a consolatory, pleasurable and feel-good movie packaged in a blatantly ruffian, manipulative and tear-jerking way. However, the survivor syndrome as a basic idea differentiates it from apparent analogies with "Gran Torino" (Eastwood 2008), "As Good as It Gets" (Brooks 1997), etc.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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Stream2BigScreeJan 16, 2023

Hey, Streamers! January seems to be the month where studios dump their leftovers and audiences have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for something worthwhile to watch. When I was not toiling away in the gym trying to stick to that NewHey, Streamers! January seems to be the month where studios dump their leftovers and audiences have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for something worthwhile to watch. When I was not toiling away in the gym trying to stick to that New Year’s Resolution, I ventured to the box office to see if this Tom Hanks flick was worth the price of admission. Who doesn’t like a grumpy old man being grumpy for two hours, right?!?! Anyway, A Man Called Otto got my attention, and here’ how it went.

A Man Called Otto is a based on a book by Fredrik Backman titled A Man Called Ove, which was turned into a Swedish film of the same name in 2015. Here, Marc Forster directs Tom Hanks as Otto, a curmudgeonly widower, who is fed up with everything, his neighbors, his neighborhood, his life. Everyone is moving on as things change around Otto, and he’s making some drastic choices about his life. When new neighbors, Marisol (Mariana Trevino), Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and their children, move in across the street, Otto gets pulled into their orbit and maybe begins to see new possibilities in life. Does his cold heart start to melt? You tell me. Grouchy hijinks ensue.

Tom Hanks slips into grumpy, grandpa mode to play Otto. He’s pretty good as usual. There isn’t much to Otto except that he’s unpleasant and kind of like the “Karen” of his neighborhood. There is a palpable sadness to the character that Hanks portrays. It isn’t until Mariana Trevino’s Marisol engages with Otto that the movie starts to come alive. Trevino is a force of nature and such a warm and inviting presence. It is no wonder Otto can’t resist her. The rest of the ensemble also begins to gel as well and shows how a neighborhood become a tight community. The emotions of the movie get heightened and really pull the audience in.

The film is too long. It could probably be 15-20 minutes shorter. It gets repetitive and I don’t think that the repetition adds anything to the story. There are also flashback sequences throughout that show the life of Otto and his wife, Sonya, that are illuminating but become intrusive. It is interesting to note that Truman Hanks, Tom’s son, plays the young Otto in the flashbacks. While the flashbacks are necessary to support the emotional resonance of the movie, I could have used less of them.

A Man Called Otto is a nice family movie. It shows how being neighborly can impact the lives of the community. While the story gets repetitive and is predictable, it does hit emotional highs that make the movie satisfying overall especially because of the performances of Tom Hanks and Mariana Trevino. This movie is not the kind of film that is necessary to be seen on the big screen, so I’d suggest checking it out when it comes to streaming. A handful of popcorn is enough for this one.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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GrungusJan 18, 2023

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I think this movie is a cynical product meant to manipulate older generations that yearn for the warmth and simplicity of their youth into rooting for a man who's there to save all these "poor colored folk" from themselves. Every character other than Otto felt like they were placed there in front of him specifically so he could fix them and show them "how they did it back in the good ol'days". "Look at this silly guy, he's overweight and effeminate and friendly, this man should be laughed at." "Get a load of this **** driving the truck behind our car stopped on a green light, why can this fool not understand I'm teaching this grown lady to drive in an unmarked car that does not specify she is a student driver in any way? I should throw him out of his truck for honking his horn and threaten to kill him because that's what this youngster deserves surely, he has long hair and tattoos and called me old!!".

"This man likes the color pink?? lmao, am I right audience?"

There are a lot of scenes in this movie that made it very clear to me that they were really feeding off that 50+ demographic. The one that annoyed me the most was the following;

Otto decides he's going to try jumping in front of a train. Before he can, another old man falls onto the tracks and helplessly lies there while a gaggle of teens and 20-somethings immediately take out their phones and start recording him, talking about their followers and speaking to each other as though what was happening around them was a spectacle that doesn't really involve them. There were a few shouts to get help here and there, but of course, our boy Otto is the only one with common sense in this crowd of wayward youth that have lost their way. Pokemon Go to the polls. He jumps down and saves the day.

A lot can be said about being young right now. It's scary and frightening in ways that people like me in their 30s can have a difficult time understanding or relating to. Technology truly can do a lot of damage to a person's perception of the world and the suffering of others. There are undoubtedly lots of **** brain-dead kids out there with no awareness or understanding of how to be kind to themselves and others. However,

I've met enough young people to know that the problem usually isn't that they don't care, or they aren't brave or capable of showing warmth and concern for other people, it's how and where they should direct that love and concern that has become incredibly difficult to navigate without strong guidance from well-adjusted parents and adults that are willing to listen to their kids and really pay attention to the media and personalities they intake. I don't think most kids would leave an old man to die on train tracks purely out of passivity and vanity. That scene in this silly movie made for easily influenced old people says much more about the older generations than the younger. Their inability to resist glossing over complicated issues with fish in a barrel, lowest hanging fruit jokes about how the kids are hopeless and the world is crumbling to **** because all the good people are old or gone. Their willingness to include minority groups in their films and tv shows, but only as an overcompensation for the jokes made at their expense, which would be more forgivable if they were the least bit clever or funny. Minorities are there to elevate their main vanilla character in some way and highlight how he's a hero who accepts everyone and everything as equals on the surface, while maybe unknowingly to the people who made the film, highlighting instead the roots of racism and other isms and phobias that they are so lazy and inept about hiding. Also, there was a cat in this movie that was only in the movie to suffer so Otto could get "awws" from the audience, being the superman of the neighborhood for all his goofy diverse buddies was not enough. Not a fan of that, if you have a hard time seeing animals in peril you should avoid the whole thing, it isn't worth it. The cat was cute though so it bumps the movie up a point.

I was planning on giving this one a 4 but it made my mom cry and she was happy to see it with me and I love her very much so I'll give it a 5. Perhaps despite itself, it serves a purpose in that.… Expand

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WatchinMoviesMar 1, 2023

Acting is good. Story isn't great, as there are a lot of other movies that cover this story much better. In fact, it's the acting that carried the movie so I'll give it that. We'd rate this "well...flip a coin to watch it."

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jk91Mar 5, 2023

A beautiful and touching story showing the story of an elderly man. An adaptation of the bestselling book

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