Film Review: Russos get too carried away with cinematic techniques in 'Cherry'

Gregory Wakeman says 'Cherry' adaptation doesn't come close to its potential

Tom Holland plays a traumatised army medic in ‘Cherry’. Apple TV+

After directing four Marvel blockbusters over the better part of the past decade, one of which included the highest grossing movie of all time in Avengers: Endgame, Joe and Anthony Russo were immediately attracted to Cherry – and you can see why.

Set in their home city of Cleveland, Ohio, it revolves around an army medic with post-traumatic stress disorder who has to rob banks in order to fund his addiction. Not only is that almost the complete opposite of a superhero movie, but it's also pretty much as tantalising as loglines get.

That's exactly why they paid $1 million for the rights to Nico Walker's acclaimed novel of the same name. However, the adaptation by the Russo brothers does not come close to reaching its potential.

The pair spend the first 50 minutes of Cherry incorporating as many cinematic techniques as they can think of into the film. This includes a tepid and mundane voiceover, which soon disintegrates into the background, numerous slow-motion shots, freeze-frames and needlessly frantic cutting.

All of which feels like a desperate attempt by the brothers to be taken seriously now that they've stepped away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Especially since, rather than being seamlessly integrated into Cherry to heighten the story or create a sense of feeling, these stylisations are so blatant and distracting that they come across as indulgent.

Simply pointing out that Cherry is all style and absolutely zero substance does not fully explain how tedious and uneven the opening third of the film is, as it genuinely borders on being incomprehensible at times.

It spends way too long introducing us to Tom Holland’s unnamed protagonist, depicting his struggles at college, his decision to join the army, and his burgeoning relationship with Ciara Bravo’s Emily.

What’s even more painstaking is that it does so in a manner that’s immediately reminiscent of dozens of films before it. There are also so many pointless scenes and head-scratching detours that you can’t help but be frustrated.

Luckily for viewers, Cherry does pick up when we see Holland working as a medic in Iraq. But even then there's nothing remotely original about how the Russo brothers depict his strife.

The last hour and a half of the film’s needlessly lengthy 2 hour and 20 minute running time does prove to be more bearable. That’s mostly down to Holland’s gallant performance, which becomes more subtle and compelling as it progresses.

In fact, the best bits of Cherry are almost entirely of Holland's making. When he joins together with Jack Reynor's drug dealer and Jeff Wahlberg's Jimenez to rob a bank, the trio finally bring humour, energy, and some originality that was previously completely absent.

It's unfortunate that pretty much everything else that Holland is asked to do is either too melodramatic or hackneyed to actually resonate.

However, the actor, 24, still convincingly transforms from lost young adult to chiselled soldier and then drug addict without missing a beat. By doing so, the Spider-Man star proves that he should go on to build an impressive and eclectic career once his days in the Marvel fold finally come to an end.

Whether the same can be said for the Russo brothers is now very much up for debate. Hopefully, they've learnt their lesson and have now got all of their cinematic urges out of their system. Otherwise the spate of projects that they currently have in various stages of development because of their blockbuster Marvel success could soon dry up.

Cherry is available on Apple TV+