Hurry Up Tomorrow: Movie Review

“Hurry Up Tomorrow” has already received a lot of mixed reviews from the public, with a lot of strong feelings about the film. There have been a large amount of criticisms towards the storyline and acting but a lot of praise for the visuals in the film. I don't think that the film deserves the hate it is getting online, with some people calling it the worst movie they have ever seen, but it is definitely not the best movie I have ever seen.

With a cast full of popular figures like Jenna Ortega, The Weeknd, Barry Keoghan, and Charli D’Amelio, the film was set up to be one that would get a lot of attention from the public, but it received a lot of mixed reactions. The film begins with Abel Tesfaye, played by The Weeknd, blowing raspberries in his mirror for a weirdly long time, and I feel like if someone did not like the start of the movie, they would not have liked the rest of the movie either.

“Hurry Up Tomorrow” is a movie that has been hyped up to be a psychologically and emotionally charged experience. Watching the trailer, I, along with many others, were excited for the film. But after watching the gilm, I exited the theater relatively disappointed. While there were definitely parts in the film that I liked, including the great imagery and performance by Jenna Ortega, the film fell short in the plot and coherency. 

Visually, the movie is definitely captivating. I loved the color and atmosphere that was added into the frames, which is understandable since the visual director is the same from the film “Waves,” which is one of my favorites. “Hurry Up Tomorrow” had a lot attention on the aesthetics and cinematography, which is one of the most successful parts of this film.

Jenna Ortega also deserves praise for her acting since I think she brings a lot of depth to the film. She had a wide range of emotions within the film, and I think there were times when she out-acted others without even saying anything. The script, plot, and other actors did not give her much to work with yet her performance felt real, emotional, and raw.

Aside from the cinematography and Ortega's acting, “Hurry Up Tomorrow” struggled to hold my interest while also keeping me confused. The narrative is puzzling, and not in a good psychological thriller kind of way. Many characters pop in and out of existence without much reason, and the "mystery” aspect comes off more annoying than it is intriguing. There's a sense that the movie is trying to be deep, but whatever message the film is trying to convey is getting lost in the muddled storytelling.

Another problem I had with the film was the pacing of it. The film was less than 2 hours long and still felt longer than it should've. There were moments where very little was going on, and I feel like the film makers attempted to build suspense, but the levels of emotion were never high enough for the “slow burn” to be justified. The ending was disappointing as well since I feel like it left so many moments in the film unaddressed.

In many ways, “Hurry Up Tomorrow” is a film that could have been much better than it ended up being. With a better storyline and maybe a couple of different choices for the actors, it could have lived up to what it was expected to be and more. I think this film lacks the heart and storyline to get the audience emotionally invested and engaged. I think it is still worth watching because of aspects like the visuals, music, and Ortega's performance, but I would recommend waiting until it is out of theaters to ensure you don't waste money.

By Kelsey Krizansky