Cruella Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

3. The Excessive Needle-Drops

Not since Suicide Squad has a film so shamelessly used popular music as a crutch, because Cruella is absolutely jam-packed with killer songs, each and every one of them slotted into the film in the most obvious, groan-worthy way possible.

With all the efficiency of a pub jukebox, viewers can barely go more than a few minutes without another on-the-nose hit song double-underlining the meaning of whatever we're seeing on screen.

Occasionally the musical choices rouse a smirk - namely a car chase set to Queen's "Stone Cold Crazy" and head-banging use of The Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" - but by the time The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" is trotted out as Cruella makes a badass girlboss entrance, it's tough not to feel a strong twinge of second-hand embarrassment.

Many of the musical selections feel like they were shoehorned into the movie late in post-production to help less-interesting scenes "pop" a little better. It's pretty much the laziest thing a filmmaker can do to elevate their work.