In dystopian LA 10 years from now, law and order are naturally breaking down. Criminals are getting shot more than usual and, in the case of severe injury, they need their very own NHS, or rather private health insurance scheme – a well-stocked discreet hospital with a convenient helipad for arrivals and departures and staff who can remove bullets without the usual tiresome insistence on informing the police. This is where Hotel Artemis comes in. (Perhaps they thought that name sounded better than, say, Hotel Aesculapius.)
It’s a highly secret place run by a competent but troubled and alcoholic nurse, played by Jodie Foster, and her devoted orderly, Everest (Dave Bautista). As the city dissolves in flames, Hotel Artemis has a number of patients: there is a bank robber (Sterling K Brown), an obnoxious arms dealer (Charlie Day) and a supercool assassin (Sofia Boutella). But then they get an emergency call: LA’s top gangster has been hit and demands VIP service, especially as he set up the Hotel Artemis in the first place, and has some personal history with the nurse; the call comes in from this man’s querulous son, played by Zachary Quinto. And who is to play this man? I guessed someone like Ian McKellen, but the actual casting is funkier still.
Screenwriter-turned-auteur Drew Pearce has imbibed the spirit of The Killing or Reservoir Dogs with something of John Wick and added the futurist alienation of Blade Runner or RoboCop. However contrived, this is a watchable and stylish piece of work, anchored by a very strong performance from Foster, who has been aged up to look older than her years, perhaps to fast-forward her into the juicy character roles that are arguably more available to older, not middle-aged female stars.
