The creators of the latest food-related movie, "Burnt", might have succeeded in presenting mouth-watering recipes on screen, but failed to get the best out of its cast members, according to the film critics. While they appreciated the team for their efforts in creating a feel-good film, they criticised the portrayal of Bradley Cooper as chef Adam Jones.
The film revolves around the life of an unsuccessful chef, who works hard to rebuild his career in hopes of opening a restaurant in Paris that can gain three Michelin stars.
The movie, written by Steven Knight and directed by John Wells, stars Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Brühl, Matthew Rhys, Alicia Vikander, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson.
"Burnt" was initially released in Greece, Hungary, Israel, Portugal and Republic of Macedonia on Thursday, 22 October. It will hit the US theatres on 30 October.
Here are some of the early reviews of the movie that briefly explains what to expect from Cooper and team:
Culinary metaphors aside, John Wells' entry in the feel-good foodie film subgenre is neither as cloying as last year's The Hundred-Foot Journey (featuring Helen Mirren in full French drag) nor as scruffily likeable as Jon Favreau's Chef. Glib, sloppy and shamelessly clichéd, it's a middling vehicle for its charismatic leading man Bradley Cooper, who sweats and swears up a storm as a disgraced chef orchestrating a comeback.
But beyond Adam's exacting standards and barely explained contempt for the latest poaching techniques, we never grasp his identity as a chef, let alone what makes him the visionary everyone keeps going on about. "Burnt" isn't burnt; on the contrary, it's — forgive me — half-baked.
Adam's eventual emotional unburdening, and Knight's screenplay comes loaded with characters and lines of dialogue that are either fraught with clumsy exposition ("When I was your sous chef ..."), obvious foreshadowing or outright emotional billboarding.
The restaurants feel alive and bustling — Reece's is hilariously, but believably, minimalist — but "Burnt" ultimately feels like those sous-vide bags that Adam finds so worthy of mockery: trapped in plastic, with the air sucked out of it.
"Burnt" is a moody-foodie therapy session that follows an increasingly tidy narrative recipe as it sets this one-man kitchen nightmare on a long road to redemption.
Although John Wells' dramedy is energized by its mouth-watering montages and an unsurprisingly fierce lead turn from Cooper, Steven Knight's script pours on the acid but holds the depth, forcing its fine actors (including Sienna Miller and Daniel Bruhl) to function less as an ensemble than as a motley sort of intervention group. Unlikely to capitalize on its once-rumored awards prospects or match "Chef's" indie-breakout status, the Weinstein Co.'s Oct. 30 release might still stir up a favorable arthouse and VOD response.
There are moments in the film, written by Steven Knight and directed with precision by John Wells, where you just want to get up and slap Adam Jones into reality, but you also understand this man is a supremely talented perfectionist, a genius in the kitchen, who has lost his way.
Burnt is more of a character-driven drama and is smart adult entertainment on every level. Still there are many of the inevitable mouth-watering food shots, so those who are starving for that kind of thing will not be disappointed.
