Him review
Marlon Wayans may be Him…but this movie sure isn’t.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Him
Directed by Justin Tipping
Written by Skip Bronkie, Zach Akers and Justin Tipping
Starring Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers and Julia Fox
Him Review
There didn’t seem to be much of a story to unpack in Him based on its trailer. Sometimes that’s a positive. It could mean that the marketing department has done a good job keeping things under wrap. I think back to the last trailer for Knock at the Cabin and how the studio seemed intent on spoiling the only thing it needed to keep secret before watching the movie. Well…the trailer for Him doesn’t spoil anything. Largely because there isn’t much of anything to spoil. Aside from a standout performance from Marlon Wayans…Him doesn’t really have anything going for it.
If you’ve seen the trailer for Him…you’ve been able to surmise that the story is about a young QB prospect spending a week with a veteran star. While there…things turn brutal. That pretty much sums up the feature length version of Him as well. I wouldn’t even know what to add to a plot summary. So little happens in the movie that revealing small details feels like giving away everything that it has.
That’s not entirely fair. There is the why of it all. Him is leading to something…the reason for everything that we have watched for 90 minutes. It’s not even a bad idea…but it’s sloppily presented as everything in Him is. You probably won’t care by the time it gets to it all anyway. In fact, due to the legitimately strong performance from Wayans…you probably won’t even be rooting for the right thing.
Wayans does everything he can to make Him worth watching. The result is interest in watching only Wayans. There’s nothing else about the movie that stands out. Unless you count how little you’ll connect to anything going on. There’s no part of the story that makes you feel anything.
The problems with Him are present right from the start. Obviously the NFL is never going to sign off on a movie like this…so we get one of those classic fake football leagues that we’re supposed to accept as the biggest thing in the world. Wayans is the eight time league champion QB…the GOAT as the movie screams at us repeatedly. Cam (Tyriq Withers) is the up and coming star projected to go first overall. After an attack leaves him with a touch of brain damage and the risk of permanent injury from another head hit…Cam’s stock tumbles. That’s good news for the reigning champions…who may be looking for a replacement for Wayans’ Isaiah White.
Isaiah invites Cam to his compound for some unorthodox training. The goal is to see if he’s ready to replace him should Isaiah choose to retire. But, of course, something more sinister is happening. The story doesn’t reveal it until the climax…which leaves most of Him floundering to find something interesting to do. It never does. Except, again, for Marlon Wayans.
Wayans dives into the role with both feet. He creates a dynamic, fascinating character. That character is trapped in a movie surrounded by uninteresting wallpaper. Every good moment in Him is the direct result of Wayans’ work. But even a great performance can only take a film so far. Him doesn’t get anywhere. It simply attaches itself to Wayans like cement shoes and ensures that his performance will be relegated to a drunken question like “what was that movie Marlon Wayans was awesome in?” I’m not certain that anyone will come up with the answer. But, if they do, I’m sure the next response will be “Oh yeah. That sucked”.
Scare Value
Him is probably worse than the score I’m going to give it. But I feel like Marlon Wayans work doesn’t deserve to be rated any lower. He’s in a much better movie that I wish we could watch instead. Him is incapable of meeting his level in any way. He operates around half-baked ideas, and a charisma challenged co-star. The worst thing about movies like this isn’t that it’s a bad movie…it’s feeling like you can’t recommend watching something that contains some truly wonderful work. But here we are.
2/5
Him Link
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