I'll say it right at the top: this is one of Andersen's weaker outings. The cast are, predictably, phenomenal. It's beautifully shot, as expected. And it definitely winds its peculiar narrative together neatly. But I'm a little lost as to what the purpose of the story was, and more than a few of the scenes just felt quirky to be quirky.
On the one hand, you have sequences like the opening credits, a one-shot filmed from a birds-eye perspective of our billionaire taking a milky bath, whilst various medical staff treat the wounds from his most recently survived assassination attempt. It's immaculate. One of those shots that really make you appreciate the artistry of direction, set design, and film making in general.
You pile on top of that some genuinely funny subplots around communist guerilla ethics (with the cherry on top being Richard Ayoade's brilliant performance; Andersen can really tease something special from him that others don't seem to manage), as well as Cera's double-double agent, and stack these alongside fantastic one-liners from our nun-turned-witness, and this is also one of the funniest Andersen outings in some time.
But then it's also the most gory, veering more towards Tarantino in some aspects of its "humour", and the most outlandish. Sure, there's a clear meta-narrative throughout about the absurdities of wealth and capitalism (particularly at scale), and this is used well in some moments, such as how business deals are always portrayed as men just yelling over one another until someone stops and declares a possible solution, but does that really warrant a basketball shoot-off? Or validate the quicksand sequence? Or make sense of the "evil" cabal that are trying to ruin him, let alone any of the assassination attempts. I mean, the cabal appear to be behind said assassins, but then it's revealed that it was his brother the whole time?
In fact, I think where the film truly falls down is in the final act. It has fun weaving this absurd tale of business idiocy, whilst slowly building towards some grand revelations about morality and our nun's true parentage, but when the curtain rises on the grand finale, what we get is a hammed-up Cumberbatch, some slapstick action, and barely any answers at all. The scheme leads to ruination, and whilst this appears to make everyone happy, it lacks any level of emotional punch.
Look, I'm all for major creatives taking a firm swing at capitalism, but the actual message here is obfuscated and unclear. The result is a messy, albeit pretty, story. Everyone involved seems to have had a fun time, but it's more style over substance.