The latest from writer-director Damien Chazelle continues to make me wish he had quit after ‘Whiplash’. Sure, ‘First Man’ had its moments, but I’ll never come around on ‘La La Land’, despite the critical acclaim. ‘Babylon’, without a doubt, is the worst of the bunch—a messy and disjointed epic (clocking in at three hours and nine minutes) that completely wastes the deep, assembled cast, which includes Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and Diego Calva. It’s apparently supposed to be a love letter to the ultra-hedonistic Hollywood days of yore but instead comes off as a meandering film chock full of moments whose sole purpose is to make you squirm, cringe, and/or wonder what the heck you’re watching.
1/5 stars