"The movie is a roller coaster of genres but no emotions except I am consistently tilted."
Movie Title: Johnny & Clyde
Year Released: 2023
Genre: Crime, Action
Identify when/where you've watched it: Watched from the watch party
Warning label: Major spoilers
Type of post: Thoughts on the movie
A very random movie this is [Johnny & Clyde (2023) - 4/10] Movie Thoughts
INTRODUCTION
I enjoy watching films and TV shows but my commitment and attachment to a certain show would depend on what element of the movie has caught me in a net, have me sit down and watch it entertained while also admiring the big and little details about the movie.
What makes me love a movie would be based on: (1) how hooked I am to the plot and (2) how attached I am to it's characters.
Johnny & Clyde has failed me on both elements.
It would be too early or unfair to judge if I didn't finish the film... Well unfortunately, I did finish it. Which means I'm not in the dark that "hey, you didn't see the ending" or "the movie got better as it goes".
PLOT
The story revolves around lovers Johnny and Clyde, a revenge-driven cop and Alana. Johnny and Clyde steals money and kills people so casually and they never get caught even with their irresponsible behavior upon committing crimes. Don't get me wrong, but I've seen movies where they rob gas stations or convenient stores and it's either we get a car chase scene after that, or cops will be tracking down the robbers. I don't know what world Johnny and Clyde lives in, but doesn't look like law enforcement has enough police in their payroll to catch these laid-back criminals. If it was THIS easy every time you rob a place or hijack an armored truck, then heist movies are just over exaggerated depiction of robbery.
Avan's portrayal of Johnny may be real to some extent or purely fictional, but the way the director or whoever is in charge had to turn every other side character's IQ to 0 just so our MCs could get away with what they're supposed to do based on the script, is just hilarious.
Subplots
The movie has not only emphasized on crime and action as shown by our MCs. It also has a Hannibal-revenge plot where our cop wants to avenge his daughter, even at the cost of his life and career. Okay, so we have one less dumb character in the show but he is obsessed with catching our serial killers.
Another subplot
Welcome blonde Megan Fox to San Angeles Megalopolis! Where everyone is an NPC and doesn't do anything significant as a person. Fox plays as Alana, the daughter of a very wealthy man I never got to meet, whom Johnny and Clyde planned to rob. She introduces the "supernatural" subplot into the movie as she turns to magical assist to protect her father's money.
Mix all subplots together
Interesting... So we have serial killers who kill for fun, an ex cop who wants revenge and a hot rich woman with supernatural connections. What could go wrong with this cast list?
We've seen movies with very mixed genres that went well. Like Back to the Future, where we have normal bully high school story, wholesome and family friendly, with comedy and romantic elements and sci-fi time travel content. Or Silence of the Lambs that is a mix of crime, mystery and thriller elements, cannibalism, a little horror for some... But somehow the movie managed to mesh everything together so well.
It just depends how they put these subplots together and support their main plot.
Johnny and Clyde failed to make it work because (2) of the second important element of a story; Characters.
CHARACTERS
This is where the butchering begins and why the plot somehow didn't work out.
Part of having viewers attached to the film is to have relatable, admirable or lovable characters. Otherwise viewers could have just watched the movie once, not remember a single thing about it and move on. It's history. I think it's better to leave an impact whether positive reviews or negative reviews rather than be in the "meh" section of the shelves.
The cast isn't that many and the new additions doesn't really do much to steal attention from the originally introduced cast.
Johnny and Clyde.
Tell me top 2 things that you like about them or find significant about what they've done or said that isn't "it's Avan Jogia from Victorious" or "the fan service they did throughout the film".
The ex cop whose name I forgot.
He has motive for his revenge pursuit against the MCs because torturing and killing his daughter for no reason is really an effective way to gain an enemy. Motive check!
His character just felt a little dry and he didn't say or do anything to make me root for him in his vengeance career he shifted into. He just ended up in the same rabbit hole that Debra Morgan fell into after learning her brother's biggest secret. His life is a mess, no plan in life (whether positive or negative) and just basically waited in his cave until he heard news of J&C again.
Alana Hart.
Again, if there are top 2 things that you liked about Alana or something she has done significant in this movie other than "she is Megan Fox" and "she shows a lot of skin here compared to Jennifer's Body", then name them.
The only memorable thing I remembered that she has contributed is how she shoots anyone she talks to and for some reason is accompanied all the time by assistants in very little clothing covering themselves.
Something disappointing about her character is how nerfed she was at the end of the film. We see her introduced in the first scene with a "badass aura" and how "hey she isn't a dumb bimbo" and "leads an entire organization". Okay cool. But somehow at the end of the film, she gives the stone to Guy (to which I believed was a fake) and somehow forgot that the stone is what controls the Bakwas which led to her gruesome death. So the director meant that every cast member dies for some reason, but that's a little disappointing way to go.
Old Friends.
J&C had old friends they recruited in their little heist, to which was introduced the same way "recruiting scenes" are done in heist movies. But the thing is, no offense, they didn't leave much impact to me for me to care about them. Their personalities are too dry. I couldn't tell if it was the script or the way the movie was executed.
Final Thoughts
I have seen movies where characters die one by one, we get no survivors or just one survivor but they had reason. It was a slasher film or it was a survival one. But this movie is just plainly spending money for no reason to film this, the same way J&C are spilling blood for fun.
Imagine Johnny and Clyde dying because they mocked the Bakwas for being unable to cross the line. The guy was holding blades that he is capable to throw... given that J&C weren't the type to give a care but that was painfully hard to watch.
On the other hand, Guy's death had no explanation as to why even after having the stone, was still killed. While I am on Alana's side and he deserves that death for having her killed, it still does not explain how that happened.
No death was symbolic and I'd care less of anyone dying (except Alana probably).
This movie is so random, I wouldn't pick it up if I knew what it had in store for me. And now knowing about it, I wouldn't spend another hour to re-watch it for any reason.
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