WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
“Him” begins as many sports video game career modes do. Generational quarterback, Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), is on the cusp of getting drafted. Though after a bizarre accident, the young quarterback’s football future is jeopardized.
It is a nice way to begin a fictional sports story. This isn’t rocket science. The film could have been about the modern problems that come with sports stardom and the many triumphs and defeats that come with competing at the highest level.
“Him” instead opts for a stranger approach. When aging football legend, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), invites Cade to his remote compound for a week of training, the young quarterback accepts, set to redeem himself after the injury.
Honestly, so far so good. Maybe the reviewers got this one wrong.
It is at this moment that the movie reached its peak, and it had only been 15 minutes. It is all downhill from here.
Cade wanders the halls of White’s home. It is a Kafkaesque castle shrouded in darkness. Everything seems innocent enough at first, until the training drills turn sadistic and violent.
As the week goes on, Cade is increasingly surrounded by bizarro imagery, strange characters and physical abuse to the point of psychological terror.
Through the film’s seven-day structure, the film’s director, Justin Tipping, highlights many different themes ranging from success and the ethics of stardom to sacrifice and the few in power who shape our daily lives.
These themes do not serve to affect the audience, as much of the second half of the film is disorienting, leaving little room for thought or reflection.
Perhaps that was the whole point. Maybe “Him” was created to fill viewers with confusion or hate. It seems trivial to examine this film more closely, as it does not compel very much.
The reason comparing “Him” to the story of a sports video game is such an insult is because in a game like NBA 2K, Madden NFL or MLB The Show, the story serves as merely a means to an end. It is something game designers throw together in less than a year and generally lacks any tangible feeling. No one plays sports games for the story.
“Him” feels similar to that. It’s high-budget with cool set pieces, interesting camerawork and decent acting, but it doesn’t have a strong core story to fall back on.
With Jordan Peele’s name slapped all over the marketing of this one, it seems a trend is starting to form. Peele is a far better director than producer.
If you’re thinking of seeing “Him,” skip it. People can read into hidden messages and easter eggs all they want, but “Him” simply fails at being an engaging film.
Peele’s “Us” had a ton of cool easter eggs and symbols to uncover, though the main thing that made those easter eggs so interesting was that the movie itself was good.
The marketing of “Him” has been a bit misleading because it seemed like this film was one of Peele’s own with his signature, one-syllable title and infusion of horror with a different genre. I hope, for Peele’s sake, people know he didn’t direct this one because it is starkly worse than “Get Out,” “Us” and “Nope.”
Great films take the viewer through a range of emotions and come with the ultimate power of viewing the world through the eyes of someone else. “Him” is an angry, needlessly violent film that doesn’t make the viewer feel anything at all, released into a world with more than enough violence already.
If you’re looking for something with a bit more substance and a bit more sports, check out “Hustle,” “Coach Carter” or “Amateur.” These all happen to be basketball movies, but as someone who grew up loving sports movies, they are excellent at scratching that sports fiction itch.
Rating: 2/5
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