It’s not often, if ever, that you can say that a film is good despite Tom Hanks’ presence, but such is the case with this splashy, kaleidoscopic Elvis biopic from writer-director Baz Luhrmann. Austin Butler absolutely blows the roof of the joint as The King, but Hanks’ cartoonish turn as Colonel Tom Parker pretty much derails the film from the outset. Using an accent that (a) sounds nothing like Parker and (b) distracts from the dazzling spectacle more often than not, it’s a bonafide head-scratcher and keeps a pretty good movie from ever becoming great.
3/5 stars