Peele's name is thrown up front, although he's just a producer on this film.
It looks...odd. Based on what I see in the trailer, it's Whiplash, but with football instead of drums and the devil instead of just hard work and sacrifice.
Him (2025)
Him (2025)
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
Him (2025)
I nailed it.
There's symbolism and then there's this movie. Holy fuck did they try to make every damn shot symbolic of something else.
Let's hit the good first: I thought Tyriq Withers and Marlon Wayans did a great job. They carry the movie as the two leads, and each delivered what they needed to for the film to work. The cinematography is, at times, pretty fantastic.
Now the bad: Everything else.
It's just a mess. There's so much ridiculous symbolism that it distracts from the story. It's not subtle, it's like being bombarded with 50lb sledgehammers. It's insanely over the top, and it hurts the story.
For example: You get invited to a training camp, and while you're there someone volunteers to get nails hammered into them every time you make a mistake. Are you sticking around? Fuck no. (That's not exactly what happens, but I only changed the method of punishment.)
The cinematography, when it's not being fantastic, is kind of shit. Different shot types are used throughout, and again, so much so that it distracts from the story.
There's gore galore, and honestly, needlessly.
It's just a shitty movie.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell