HE's Jeffrey Wells mentioned that he gave "Hail Caesar!" "another shot," hoping to see the film in a more "approving light." Suffice to say, second time wasn't the charm:
"Alas, it wasn’t to be. As well-made, well-acted and handsomely designed as it obviously is, I still felt irked and underwhelmed. My re-viewing wasn’t boring. It’s still diverting in several portions (Channing Tatum‘s dance number, Aldren Ehrenreich‘s “would that it twuhhh” scene with Ralph Fiennes) but it feels oddly thin and scattershot."
My response:
"Burn After Reading" clicked after a second viewing. I find many Coen films tend to have that quality. "O Brother," "Burn After the Reading," "The Big Lebowski," "The Man Who Wasn't There," and "A Serious Man" are examples of films that have been severely enriched due to re-watches. That' the sign of great filmmakers, the Coens are always one step ahead of you. With all that being said, I've given "Hail, Caesar" a few shots the last few years, but it's just not as humorous and snappy as it thinks it is. I'll eventually give it another chance but it does feel like that rare Coen dud."
Oh, and in the off-chance, you wonder why I didn't add "The Ladykillers" to the "lower-tier works" in the title, I actually kind of like that movie. Tom Hanks' performance is a total delight. There, I've said it.