Cherry Review: Fell Flat in Almost Every Way!

The Russo Brother’s hyped up Cherry for months, speaking about Tom Holland’s amazing performance and the need for a story about struggling veterans after coming home from war. However, what we got from this film was a film that struggled to make a lasting impact, go deep into its themes of addiction and PTSD, and display a believable romance between the two leads, Tom Holland and Ciara Bravo.

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Cherry fell flat in almost every way, causing one to wonder how a story about PTSD and addiction could have been treated with so little passion. Not to mention it being bogged down by one of the worst “romances” in a film in a long time. First off, the script seemed to be written so carelessly, insisting on using the long plot and various scenarios in the film to show the audience the many “steps” veterans go through, including enlisting, fighting, coming home, dealing with substance abuse, and in this case, robbing banks for drug money.

The film made me feel like I was reading a basic storyboard with zero direction as to how the actors or script could elevate its themes and evoke sincere emotion from the audience. Tom Holland’s character was written so poorly, making the audience wonder if they should feel bad for him, see him as an antihero, or loath his actions entirely. In the beginning of the film, Cherry makes a rash decision to join the army after being broken up with by his girlfriend.

The lack of purpose or drive to enlist already sets this script up for failure. Cherry’s actions after getting home from war, including using and robbing banks are supposed to be seen as coping mechanisms to deal with his PTSD. But, writing the character from the get go as a hasty decision maker makes it difficult to feel empathy because of his lack of motivation and emotional drive to enlist in the first place.

The theme of addiction is handled in a way that is used to emotionally manipulate the audience through the casting of Tom Holland, which is not his fault but the fault of the Russo Brothers. Because they did not display any sort of authenticity regarding addiction when writing the script, the film fell in the hands of Tom Holland’s likeability to evoke emotion from the audience.

However, it just proves even further how weak the script was if the Russo Brother’s felt that was the way to get an emotional reaction. Finally, the romantic aspect of the film, in which Emily and Cherry struggle with addiction together, felt incredibly awkward and pointless. The Russo Brothers wrote Emily’s character in a way that did not even further the story of Cherry (which would be a problem in itself) or give her any layers to examine. The entire romance felt messy and inauthentic. As a fan of Tom Holland, it is a shame to see the way the film turned out. This is definitely two and a half hours you can spend elsewhere.

‘Cherry’ Rating – 2/5