Serving up a piece of medium rare infused kitchen drama; we have this year’s Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Kitchen Nightmare’ come onto the big screen. Not literally, but Bradley Cooper’s charisma and persona in the film aren’t far off from the English chef. Adam Jones played by Bradley Cooper is a determined chef who destroyed his career in Paris by acting recklessly and being involved in drug taking. Deciding to make a clean slate, Adam goes to London to get his third Michelin star to become the best chef in the world. Relentless in his methods to achieve not just the best, but to be perfect, Bradley Cooper displays a good performance as the crazed chef who turns from hot to cold instantly. Directed well by relative newcomer in the director’s chair, John Wells, known for his only previous work behind the camera for ‘August: Osage County’, provides a great in your face technique with the camera to make you feel the heat and tension that builds up in the kitchen.
‘Burnt’ is very lucky to have a brilliant cast, not only in starring roles, but in the supporting too. The film never lacks an average performing moment from any of its ensemble that include Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy and my personal favourite in the film, Daniel Bruhl. The Golden Globe nominee provides a great performance as Tony, the owner of the restaurant that Adam Jones cooks in. Along with that, we are treated to supporting roles by Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson & Alicia Vikander. One of the problems with ‘Burnt’ is that the story isn’t necessarily the most interesting, and you don’t grow fond of the characters, in particular Bradley Coopers. Mainly down to the fact that he is an inconsiderate, cocky asshole. But in this moment in time, Bradley Cooper is the perfect actor to portray a role like that and effectively, pull off.
The majority of the time, I thoroughly enjoyed watching ‘Burnt’ and really felt engrossed in the quick and snappy storyline and pace of the film. A short running time and energy throughout, it’s hard not to enjoy a movie with a little punch, but it’s obviously not the best film you will see this year. In terms of trying to feel dramatic, at points it fails, mainly because you don’t connect with the characters as you are supposed to detest these people, so when something bad or dramatic happens to them, you kind of just shrug your shoulders.
Most importantly, for a film in this genre, ‘Burnt’ has done very well in making it seem fairly interesting and engrossing enough to say that I actually enjoyed the film, but honestly, it made me hungry throughout the movie. Good performances by the ensemble, ‘Burnt’ gets a 3.5 out of 5.
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