Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

 

 7/10

 

 

Starring

Michelle Yeoh

Ke Huy Quan

Stephanie Hsu

 

Directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

 

This movie is a mix of genres. There’s action, adventure, thriller, comedy, and sci-fi. One thing this movie gets right all the time is the reactions to the chaos. It explores the multiverse in ways that differ greatly from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which came out after it. When it boils down to the reaction of knowing that there’s an almost infinite number of you, spread across the multiverse based on every possible decision you make, our lead’s view of such a possibility was almost perfect.

The acting and performances of Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan are Oscar-worthy. You may be familiar with Yeoh, but wonder who Quan is. He played Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

The way the characters are written reflects how anyone would likely react when facing the idea of the multiverse: confused, tired, and not wanting to be anywhere near the chaos of it all. It was so cool to see someone behave like a human for once on TV. When the lead was asked to choose between the madness of the multiverse and her present life of depression, failed possibilities, and loneliness, she chose her present life because, even though it’s not perfect, she seems to have a hold on it.

The movie drops us into the life of Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) and Waymond Wang (Ke Huy Quan). Their life is that of a couple who are tired of being together and are struggling to keep their laundromat up and running. They are facing IRS foreclosure on their laundromat when a bombshell drops on Evelyn’s lap: the whole universe as we know it is coming to an end. Why? Because of a being called Jobu Tupaki. The cool thing about this insanity is watching Evelyn come close to solving the whole issue, only to take the wrong turn at the final moment. Those times made me scream and love the movie so much more.

Jobu Tupaki wants to end the universe for a reason that no one knows. Waymond Alpha (a Waymond from another universe) came to what I want to believe is our universe to meet with our Evelyn and get her to help stop this being. The problem is that Evelyn is one of the many Evelyns they have met, with all the others failing. You may wonder why Evelyn is so important—if I tell you that, it will ruin the first half of the movie.

The movie did have a very annoying ending, and it rounded up in a way I would not have wanted it to, but in the end, it’s one of those movies you should see.