Netflix is no stranger to a good ol’ murder mystery film, with the hotly anticipated next two chapters within the Knives Out franchise from writer and director Rian Johnson currently in the pipeline. While Glass Onion is set to hit Netflix soon, a much more grisly tale, The Pale Blue Eye is set to follow on January 6th, one that’ll take us back to the 1830s at the West Point Military Academy in New York.
The Pale Blue Eye is the story of Augustus Landor as he’s contacted to help solve the grisly murders of young cadets at the West Point Military Academy. The detective with a dark past would come to form an alliance of sorts with another young cadet at the academy, who would come to be known as the world-famous poet and writer, Edgar Allen Poe. Unfortunately, the grizzliest part of this movie is just how big a dud it is.
The movie kicks off quickly; it doesn’t waste any time jumping right into the mysterious murders that come to haunt the West Point grounds. Take it in now because this is the only time the film decides not to waste any time. Countless times throughout the film, things just didn’t seem to be going anywhere; the mystery just isn’t engrossing enough, there is little to no weight to it, and you’re never on the edge of your seat trying to figure out just who committed these murders.
At multiple points in the film, it’s basically just given away as to what’s going on rather than allowing your mind to wander and figure these things out for yourself; granted, you could try and do that before the movie tells you, but again, it’s just not that interesting.
Painfully Generic, Yet Fun Performances
Perhaps one of the worst parts of the film is how painfully generic it feels. This seems to be a common trend amongst many of the original films that Netflix puts out, with very few crushing the threshold of becoming something unique and bringing something new to the table. This movie would fit in well with Netflix’s other line of films that you feel like you’d see in the background of an episode of The Simpsons as a background parody gag.
The performances are fun but there’s nothing jaw dropping here for what could’ve been a knock out of the park with Harry Melling as Edgar Allen Poe, brilliant casting there but, unfortunately, he is just kinda there and then shoved into a rapid romance that again, is so sudden and strange that when he proclaims his love for this girl you’re left scratching your head as to why he cared so much for her when he just met her. But hey! Christian Bale is there! he exists in this film; he’s the lead character.
The Tone of ‘The Pale Blue Eye’ Is…?
The tone of the film just felt all over the place, you go in expecting a dark gothic mystery but the film teeters on the edge of the supernatural, never knowing if it wants to give in until all of a sudden you’re experiencing a random satanic ritual that makes you feel like you may have missed something, but no you didn’t, just a lot of walking around until eventually something just pops up out of nowhere and the story is pushed forward by that instead of any actual effort being put in by the characters to push this story onwards.
The end of the movie, however, greets you with a random plot twist that just kinda happens, leaving you with a feeling of “Well that happened” without putting too much thought into it because you just don’t care enough.
‘The Pale Blue Eye’ – Final Thoughts
The Pale Blue Eye was a great title for this film because it is pale in comparison to many other mystery films hitting the entertainment world these days.
The Pale Blue Eye is now streaming on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.
The Review
'The Pale Blue Eye'
The Pale Blue Eye was a great title for this film because it is pale in comparison to many other mystery films hitting the entertainment world these days.