DOMINO is a new thriller on Netflix. The movie is directed by Brian De Palma, who continues his bad streak. However, this isn’t just bad, it is seriously awful. Read why this movie is so bad you have to watch it to believe it. On Netflix now, check out our full Domino review here!

Domino is a new thriller on Netflix by director Brian De Palma. Honestly, I cannot begin to explain why this movie is so goddamn awful, but I will try.

The fact that most of the story takes place in my native Denmark and that it has a lot of Danish actors should make Domino an interesting watch for me. However, this is one of the things that makes it absolutely terrible. As it was the case with the adaptation of the Norwegian crime novel The Snowman, the characters speak English.

Why? I have no idea. Also, the way Copenhagen is shown is so unlike Copenhagen that is seems like a waste that they even shot it there. 

Read our full Domino review to understand why this new Netflix addition is so bad you simply have to watch it!

WTF, Brian De Palma?

Honestly, I don’t think Brian De Palma has done anything even halfway decent for the better part of two decades. 

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore his brilliant adaptation of the Stephen King book Carrie. It’s one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King book and even though it has been remade several times, nothing beats this first adaptation. In other words, it’s the exact opposite of It where the original adaptation was a low budget TV miniseries production and the remake made sense.

However, Domino is one of the strangest thrillers I have ever watched. The cast is there, the story could have been interesting, but nothing really works. It comes across mostly as a spoof, but clearly, you’re supposed to take it seriously.

And don’t even get me started on the very one-sided look at muslims and terrorism. In so many ways, Domino feels like a movie that should have been made in the early 1990s at the very latest.

Domino (2019) Netflix Thriller

Danish people speak English in Denmark

Umm, no, while pretty much everyone in Denmark can speak English, we do not go around speaking English to each other in Denmark. However, after watching Domino, I can’t blame you for believing we might.

When deciding to shoot a movie in Denmark and have the plot take place in Copenhagen, I cannot for the life of me understand why you would go with a Danish cast, if you want the actors speaking English.

You get an actor like Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones in the lead and for most scenes in the first half of the movie, he is interacting with other Danish actors. But they are only speaking English to one another. However, in the background, you will here other characters speaking Danish which only adds to the confusion.

Also, when they go to other countries, people are speaking in the native tongue of the country. It’s beyond weird and yet, it’s not the strangest part of the story. However, I do feel the need to say “I’m so sorry Brian De Palma made you look like complete fools” to the brilliant Danish actors, that are caught up with the mess that is Domino.

We do also have an English speaking actor like Guy Pearce in Domino. Of course, the British born (and Australian raised) actor portrays an American CIA agent. I mean, why not?! Guy Pearce even has the “pleasure” of saying one of the most cringeworthy lines: “We’re Americans, we read your e-mails.

Watch Domino on Netflix now – or maybe don’t?!

It is pretty much impossible to explain exactly how bad Domino is. Other than a very decent cast, trapped in this horror of a movie, nothing else is good. The style is one that we’ve seen for decades in Brian De Palma movies. While it may have been cool in the 1970s and even the 1980s, it’s just tired and dated now.

Also, the score is absolutely dreadful. It is so dramatically over the top and despite the movie taking place in 2020, everything feels like it’s barely the 1980s in terms of style. The score being one of the elements that highlights the 40-year-old vibe.

Obviously, I can’t recommend watching a movie that we give just one star. However, you can’t begin to understand just how bad this is unless you watch it. Having a core cast of Danish actors speaking English in Denmark, while they switch to French and Spanish as the story takes them to other countries, is the least of it. And that’s saying a lot because it’s truly crazy!

Domino (2019) is available on Netflix in the US & Canada from September 28, 2019.

Details

Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Carice van Houten, Eriq Ebouaney, Guy Pearce, Mohammed Azaay, Søren Malling, Paprika Steen, Helena Kaittani

Plot

A Copenhagen police officer hunts for the man who attacked his partner, only to stumble into a high-stakes game of espionage.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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