Amsterdam Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

1. David O. Russell's Flat Direction

Again, as much as there's a very strong argument to be made that David O. Russell is a pretty terrible human being, his filmmaking accomplishments speak for themselves.

He's an exceptional actors' director who has guided numerous performers to Oscar wins and nominations over the years, yet throughout Amsterdam it's tough to shake the feeling that the filmmaker - whose last film, Joy, was released way back in 2015 - has rather lost his step.

The confidence and self-assurance present in both Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle is rarely glimpsed throughout Amsterdam, which feels considerably more skittish and uneven.

Whereas in those films Russell felt entirely in control of every aspect of the production, here it feels more like the project got away from him, and it's largely due to the efforts of the cast and the technical aspects that the film is still quite watchable.

And to that note, here's what actually makes Amsterdam still worth watching...