Rarely have so many stars labored to so little effect as they do in "Amsterdam."
Big names who headline their own movies took roles that give them almost nothing to do in the chaotic comedy, including Chris Rock, Michael Shannon and Alessandro Nivola. Some of the cameos leave an impression — Taylor Swift is lively and intriguing in a couple of scenes as a woman who asks the leads to investigate her father's murder — but most vanish in a movie so enraptured with its own goofy accents and peculiar behaviors that it loses track of whatever it was supposed to be about. It's like a recipe with a dozen great flavors that don't mix well together.
It's too bad, too, because a few individual scenes are entertaining. Some of the fast-talking dialogue is amusing ("You call your husband The General?"/ "Only on weekdays") and Christian Bale, in particular, has fun with the Coen brothers-like intricacy of the language. Bales' narration is almost nonstop so we get most of our info from the perspective of his Burt, a doctor who tries to help fellow World War I veterans with their lingering injuries and traumas. His best friends are Harold (John David Washington), also a vet, and Valerie (Margot Robbie), who is Harold's girlfriend, although they can't be open about that in the racist U.S.
