Hidden Remote
Fansided

Armageddon Time movie review: An uneven film that misses the mark

By Ricky Valero

(L to R) Anne Hathaway stars as Esther Graff and Jeremy Strong stars as Irving Graff in director James Gray's ARMAGEDDON TIME, a Focus Features release. Courtesy of Anne Joyce/Focus Features
(L to R) Anne Hathaway stars as Esther Graff and Jeremy Strong stars as Irving Graff in director James Gray's ARMAGEDDON TIME, a Focus Features release. Courtesy of Anne Joyce/Focus Features /
facebooktwitterreddit

James Gray is back in the saddle with his upcoming movie Armageddon Time. The last time Gray hit theaters was for his masterful Ad Astra. Does this film live up to the same hype? Let’s dive in and find out.

Armageddon Time follows the story of a family that is in pursuit of the American Dream. The movie has a star-studded cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Anthony Hopkins, and Banks Repeta.

The movie begins with an awkward title card introducing us to this Jewish family doing what they can to keep the family afloat. Irving Graff (Strong) is the stern father and a hard worker, Esther Graff (Hathaway) is the soft mom that is the head of the PTA, and then Paul Graff (Repeta), who seems to be the rebellious kid who doesn’t listen. In the background, we got the loving Grandpa (Hopkins), who appears to be the backbone of them all.

Armageddon Time had so much potential

When the story focuses on the family, it has so many layers about trying to come up in a world that likes to hold you back that is strong, yet Gray leans heavily into this story about racism that is so widely strange that it disjoints the rest of the movie. You can’t help but wonder what the point of this entire side story was because it proved to teach us (or the characters in the film) nothing.

I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the performances in this movie, but that probably won’t shock you much when you have the likes of Hathaway and Hopkins. However, the kids in the film were where a ton of the credit belonged. Banks Repeta had a heavy burden of carrying much of the dialogue in the movie and did well opposite some true heavy hitters. Jaylin Webb, who played Johnny Davis, while his story was underwhelming, Webb does a great job within what was given to him.

Overall, Armageddon Time isn’t a bad movie, but it’s quite the forgettable one. The performances will keep you invested, but the uneven script will quickly baffle you. I think this is an easy skip this weekend and wait until it hits digital/VOD to check it out.

Armageddon Time hits theaters on Nov. 4, 2022.

Next. 6 movies to watch (and 3 to skip) in November 2022. dark

Home/Movies