Every once in a while, a movie comes along that sounds too ridiculous to exist. The premise implies an uninspired, mediocre B-movie, but the cast implies the exact opposite. Such is the case with Hotel Artemis. The movie tells the story of a chaotic near-future Los Angeles where a nurse runs a secret hotel/hospital for criminals, and it stars none other than Sterling K. Brown, Jeff Goldblum, Jodie Foster and a host of other talented and familiar actors. This combination of subject and talent is extremely intriguing, so to see how all these elements come together, check out the first trailer for Hotel Artemis below.
First, it's worth addressing the fact that there will be a lot of comparisons drawn between this movie and certain elements from the John Wick series. There are definitely a lot of similarities between the Artemis and The Continental Hotel for assassins from those Keanu Reeves films, like the rules about no killing on the grounds. While that base premise is similar, Hotel Artemis looks to be doing something different in terms of story and style. The bulk of the movie appears to take place within the hotel, and there's some comedy and drama to go along with all the action. These various elements all tease a film that is part Die Hard, part John Wick and part Dredd.
I have no idea how good this will be, but Hotel Artemis looks highly entertaining, and it is neat to see some of these actors in roles different than we are accustomed to seeing them in. Watching all of these criminals, each with unique skill sets, defending the Artemis and each other from The Wolf King and his goons using knives and 3D-printed guns should make for the kind of creative action movie that stands out from the crowd. There is something tongue-in-cheek about the whole thing, and I'm curious how this will turn out.
The cast of Hotel Artemis is absolutely stellar. Sofia Boutella is always magnetic as a badass, and Dave Bautista is perfectly cast as a not-to-be-trifled-with orderly. Jodie Foster looks to be having a blast as the Nurse, and Jeff Goldblum's villain seems as charming and fun as his Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok. Hotel Artemis also boasts a whole bevy of talent mostly known for their work on television, including It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Charlie Day, Atlanta's Brian Tyree Henry (all about that paper, boy) and, of course, This Is Us's Sterling K. Brown in the lead role. Something about this film drew all that talent on board, and everyone looks to be having a lot of fun with this movie.
Another reason that his movie could add up to more than the sum of its parts is director and writer Drew Pearce. This is Drew Pearce's feature-length directorial debut, but he has directed shorts like the Marvel one-shot, All Hail the King. Drew Pearce was also involved in penning the script for Iron Man 3 and the story for Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
Hotel Artemis hits theaters on June 8. For all the biggest movies hitting this year, check out our release schedule.
