A man enters a motel room, moves all the furniture, rolls up the rug, pries open the floor, drops a satchel into the hole, puts everything back in place, hangs around, answers the door and is blown to smithereens.

Ten years later, a priest, a traveling salesman, a girl singer and an angry hippie chick are checked into the El Royale motel by a deaf hotel clerk. Only one of them is what he or she claims to be.

It's an elaborately, almost flamboyantly written neo-noir. Clearly writer-director Drew Goddard has seen Quentin Tarrantino's pictures and has learned his stye of writing a movie: take a bunch of great shots, and write a script that gets from one to the next. Add in some shock value and a great setting -- the Arte Moderne El Royale is clearly modeled on the Cal-Neva Lodge, the glitzy hotel half in California and half in Nevada, that was bought by Sinatra and Dean Martin fronting for the Mafia. A great music track is necessary -- 1960s girl-band hits. Where he has bettered Tarrantino -- with whom I have reached my limit -- is that it's not necessary to go all potty-mouth all the time, and if you can't remember a great shot to steal, why, you can write your own.

Gasp! What an insane idea! Thanks to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, composer Michael Giacchino and the other talent behind the camera, as well as a solid cast led by Jeff Bridges, it works very well... although about ten minutes from the end something bumped my concentration to make it clear all this was scripted.In sum, there's nothing absolutely original about this movie, but it's pretty well put together and will keep you guessing until the end.

"Bad Times at the El Royale" is an extremely intelligent film when it comes to the writing. It's very complex and a film you just can't stop watching once you start because there are so many strange twists and turns in the script. That being said, in hindsight I probably shouldn't have watched the movie because it is ultra-violent and unpleasant....and afterwards I felt a need to watch DIsney+ just to get my mood back to normal! After all, you'll see quite a few people shot up close and personal as well as a lot of blood....and I generally avoid films like that. So, whether or not you see it depends on the sorts of films you enjoy and your stamina! Think about it before you try it.

BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE is a generally likeable crime thriller that keeps you guessing for a while before letting rip with a high-energy climax. It's another single location type movie set in the lobby and various rooms of a slightly sleazy motel, but the good news is that it's a lot more intelligent than Tarantino's similar HATEFUL EIGHT. The first half takes a little while to get going with character stories presented as sub-plots that mingle together in a way similar to the likes of 11:14, although not quite as good. The ending really picks up with actors such as Jeff Bridges and Chris Hemsworth shining in against-type roles, and the unknown-to-me cast members pull off effective performances too. Not quite a classic, but still a fun way to spend an hour or two.