This is one of those films that I find legitimately challenging to write a review about because it’s just so deeply successful on so many nuanced levels that I can’t even start to articulate why it’s so good.

What sets this film apart from most for me personally is just how much of a pure and clear insight into someone’s imagination it is. Like, most films are a collection of someone’s (or a group of peoples) ideas brought to life on screen, but this feels like tapping directly into the brain of the creator and sharing their thoughts in real time. 

There’s something synchronic about that with what’s actually happening in the story, with characters tapping directly into the brains of other versions of themselves and experiencing things from another’s perspective. Everything here just seems so miraculously and seamlessly joined up and considered. 

Every good story ought to have metaphors and deeper meaning, but Everything Everywhere All at Once takes that notion to the extreme, with multiple interpretations of the same story running side by side, overlapping and effecting each other throughout. All the while it also manages to be wildly funny and feature some of the greatest over the top martial arts sequences since Kung Fu Hustle. 

Performances all deserve huge praise across the board (Michelle Yeoh obviously getting the recognition she deserves at the Oscars), but for my money Stephanie Hsu is the one who steals the show as Joy/Jobu Tupaki. 

Like I said, I don’t really feel equipped to go into all the ways this is a masterpiece, but I certainly loved it. 

Oh, and if you enjoyed this film and have never watched the Noah Hawley show Legion (with Dan Stevens and Aubrey Plaza) then I highly recommend checking that out too.