Hoffa's a strange film. At over two hours long, it doesn't even attempt to use the time wisely; instead, it jumps through the life of Hoffa in what could only be described as a slideshow. There are moments where the character changes so drastically between scenes that you get whiplash trying to figure out what just happened. There's a moment where Hoffa sits next to a woman unseen up to that point, only to refer to her as his wife which is good because there's literally no setup for it before that and they try to later use her for an emotional scene that falls completely flat since she’s a non character. It's just a poorly paced nightmare, and it can't even be bothered to look that good. A moment in the woods about halfway through is the highlight, not because it looks good, but because it's so out of left field, with the sky having a sickly yellow color for some reason. It's just some perfectly average-looking stuff at the best of times and ugly the rest of the time.
Jack Nicholson's turn as Hoffa is weird. Far from bad, but also sometimes comically strange. So many of the acting moments come off as an almost parody of what these people think a gangster film is. Kevin Anderson as Robert F. Kennedy is a highlight, fully feeling like a sketch rather than a serious moment in a very serious film.
Perhaps the biggest sin that Hoffa commits is Danny DeVito. He's a fictional character created for the film for what seems like no good reason. He just drifts in and out as Hoffa has dramatic moments. You're looking to the left of the frame and in the foreground of the scene, you see a blurry, out-of-focus DeVito, having absolutely nothing to do except wait for the film to enter another fast forward. It's absolutely bewildering that this film exists in the state it does.
Hoffa's a strange film. At over two hours long, it doesn't even attempt to use the time wisely; instead, it jumps through the life of Hoffa in what could only be described as a slideshow. There are moments where the character changes so drastically between scenes that you get whiplash trying to figure out what just happened. There's a moment where Hoffa sits next to a woman unseen up to that point, only to refer to her as his wife which is good because there's literally no setup for it before that and they try to later use her for an emotional scene that falls completely flat since she’s a non character. It's just a poorly paced nightmare, and it can't even be bothered to look that good. A moment in the woods about halfway through is the highlight, not because it looks good, but because it's so out of left field, with the sky having a sickly yellow color for some reason. It's just some perfectly average-looking stuff at the best of times and ugly the rest of the time.
Jack Nicholson's turn as Hoffa is weird. Far from bad, but also sometimes comically strange. So many of the acting moments come off as an almost parody of what these people think a gangster film is. Kevin Anderson as Robert F. Kennedy is a highlight, fully feeling like a sketch rather than a serious moment in a very serious film.
Perhaps the biggest sin that Hoffa commits is Danny DeVito. He's a fictional character created for the film for what seems like no good reason. He just drifts in and out as Hoffa has dramatic moments. You're looking to the left of the frame and in the foreground of the scene, you see a blurry, out-of-focus DeVito, having absolutely nothing to do except wait for the film to enter another fast forward. It's absolutely bewildering that this film exists in the state it does.
