MovieChat Forums > Last Night in Soho (2021) Discussion > Edgar Wright - great openings, weak endi...

Edgar Wright - great openings, weak endings

posted 3 years ago by Drooch (5333)
6 replies | jump to latest

Seems to be the pattern with Wright’s films that they start brilliantly with a great concept and full of promise and energy, then about half way they run out of steam but keep going, usually for another hour, and devolve into something disappointingly generic.

Totally had this with Last Night In Soho. It was dazzling and mysterious, only to give way to a blah ghost story. Baby Driver was thrilling and cool with its marriage of incredible driving footage and great songs… then becomes a meh crime thriller.

Watching his films is like eating too much candy. What starts as heaven gives way to a sickly sweet sensation. Either his films need to be shorter, like 90 minutes, or he needs a balance of flavours.

Tarantino manages to find substance in his mischievous magpie movies, which hover around the 2.5 hour mark but never outstay their welcome. There’s always a story to care about. I don’t get much story from Wright, just a nifty sketch stretched out to 2 hours.

[–] Information-Police (4889) 3 years ago

The ending is always the hard part. Not many movies stick the landing, IMO. Plus, you have to keep in mind that studio execs often screw with a writer/ director's intention for the ending for whatever reason - mostly justifying their big salaries. I don't know if that has happened to EW or not.

[–] Drooch (5333) 3 years ago

So true. Good movies have great endings. Rob Reiner knows how to end a movie - everything builds and builds to a climax where all the pieces that have been set up fall into place for an electric, cathartic finale.

They say you should know your ending and write backwards.

Sadly, Hollywood threw away storytelling years ago, and replaced it with relentless porn.

[–] swanstep (2715) 3 years ago

They say you should know your ending and write backwards.

Billy Wilder's rule/tip for screenwriters #6 is:

“If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.”

You may not know your ending (and so write backwards from it), but if you can see clearly that your Final Act is just so-so then your First Act (at least) needs work, maybe is more flash than substance.

[–] Burgershmurger (1360) 2 years ago

I thought it was gonna be a romantic comedy time travel mystery, not yet another slasher flic. The opening credits were going that way.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft (236) 2 years ago

Good analysis. Really fits this movie and “Baby Driver” in particular.

[–] modica (4169) 2 years ago

I don't agree with all his movies having weak endings, but his endings are never as strong as the openings. Last Night In Soho started great, but ended terribly. It's one of the Wright movies I like the least.