The Menu Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

Downs...

3. It Totally Peaks In The First Act

The double-edged sword of The Menu's robust, riveting first act is that it sets such a high standard that the rest of the movie can't quite live up to.

The first 40-or-so minutes do such a fantastically fun, tight job of introducing audiences to the central characters, establishing the tone, and building a mystery, that once we know what's going on a little of the lustre is lost.

Your mind will surely be whirring throughout that first act trying to figure out the precise motivations of celebrity chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) and his very weird dining experience, but once the cards are on the table, it settles into a more familiar - if still very fun - mode.

Such is the penalty for giving the audience such an enticing in, that it's a huge struggle to follow it up with something equally compelling, and it ultimately ends up a hair shy.