COVID-19 Special: 'News of the World' (12A)

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel

Where can I watch?: News of the World will be released on Netflix later in 2021

Rating: 3/5

Review: The last time Tom Hanks and director Paul Greengrass worked together was in 2013's nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat Captain Phillips. A difficult watch that packed a huge emotional punch, it remains a must-watch. In the years to come, the same probably won't be said of the duo's latest outing, News of the World. Taking it upon himself to return a twice-orphaned girl (Helena Zengel) to her last remaining relatives in the south, Captain Kidd (Tom Hanks) must travel across America in the aftermath of the Civil War, facing hostility, danger and division as he goes. To say that News of the World is 'predictable' is something of an understatement - at every point in the story, it was outstandingly obvious what was going to happen, from the hide and seek montage upon a rocky outcrop, to a run-in with less than savoury characters on the road south. Even the dialogue, adapted from Paulette Jiles' novel of the same name, is stunningly formulaic, with the standard 'teaching each other their language' scene shoehorned in as well. You can see the end coming a mile off. Yet, for all this, there is something ultimately comforting about the enduring parable of good over evil, of doing the right thing when it seems as though the world is against you. Other reviews have stated that News of the World is an important film for our divided times - there is growing tension between the Blues and the southerners throughout - and, although I wouldn't go that far, there is clearly a link between the film's release date and the split along party lines currently seen in the US. It's also got Tom Hanks in every scene, and if that doesn't make you feel better at a time like this, what will?

A COVID-19 Must-Watch?: Undeniably predictable and wholly unoriginal, Greengrass' latest is far from what you'd call a 'masterpiece'. Swapping his go-to urgent shaky-cam for sweeping vistas and intimate close-ups, this film feels much softer than his other outings, despite the subject matter. And, although I wouldn't call it a must-watch, there is something quite reassuring about 'soft' right now.

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