The film frequently falls back on the stately demeanor of countless other historical biopics and period pieces.
The exquisite Blu-ray transfer makes an argument for the film’s remarkable production design and audio/visual construction.
Its headiness exists beyond its more pseudo-philosophical dialogue about the differences between fantasy and reality.
The film’s notion of a caste system is crudely reductive in the manner of a routine future-shock thriller.
The Gerard Johnson film’s blanket cynicism is its most shopworn quality of all.
Ben Wheatley’s film is a reckless combination of period piece, war drama, broad comedy, psychedelic fever dream, and occult horror-scape.