How to Ruin Your New Year's Mood? Check Out Yolki Last. Honest Negative Review of the Movie
add_circle Pros
- The movie has a catchy soundtrack
- The cinematography is decent, but not impressive
- The actors try their best, but the script lets them down
- The movie looks visually appealing, but that's about it
- The runtime is relatively short, which is a plus
remove_circle Cons
- The story is predictable and lacks originality
- The characters are underdeveloped and hard to relate to
- The humor is stale and falls flat
- The pacing is slow and uneven
- The movie tries to be too much like the original, but fails to deliver
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Editor's Summary
I'm usually excited to dive into the new year's movie premieres, but this year's lineup is a total letdown. I recently watched Yolki Last, and I gotta say, it's a total waste of time. The movie tries to bring back the magic of the original Yolki series, but it falls flat. The story is predictable, the characters are underdeveloped, and the humor is stale. If you're looking for a fun and engaging movie to watch during the holidays, look elsewhere.
Specifications
Hello everyone! There are only 12 days left until New Year's, and I decided to go to the movies to catch some of the premieres that are starting in theaters at the end of December and the beginning of January, so you can read about them and stay in the loop on what's worth watching and what's not worth your time and money. This year's New Year's premieres schedule is as bare as ever. The usual suspects are back: stale Yolki and unfinished Bogatyri.
Yolki Last Negative ReviewsI attended the pre-premiere screening of Yolki Last in St. Petersburg at Formula Cinema's Zhemchuzhina Plaza on December 19. For the first time in ages, I decided to leave early (an hour and a half before the show) and still managed to arrive late... So, the autograph session with actors Alexander Golovin and Alexander Domogarov Jr. (yes, there is one) went right past me. Bummer 😞
The title of the movie gives us hope that we won't be seeing any Yolki in 2019, 2020, or even 2021. I thought the 'anthology film' genre had fallen out of favor worldwide, but Wikipedia proved me wrong: the Coen brothers' western anthology just came out on Netflix, and next year we'll see "Berlin, I Love You" (I'll have to check it out, as I also love Berlin - I'll watch it, get nostalgic). Yolki Last has essentially stopped being an anthology film shot by different directors and turned into a New Year's TV series with multiple directors. For some, Yolki has become a New Year's tradition. It's the same for me - I love watching it, then complaining about the franchise in my reviews on Rikamende.
So, what are Yolki Last? It's a continuation of the stories from "Yolki-5" and "Yolki New" + one new storyline. Who will we meet in the new Yolki?
Last New Year's movie reviews Last New Year's movie reviews Last New Year's movie reviews1) Trio Dmitry Nagiev + Elena Yakovleva + Daniil Vakhreushev. Uncle Yuri continues to mess around with his mom, Andrei's aunt Tanya. Their relationship is almost at a new level, but it's being held back by male pride and something like 'I'm an old soldier and I don't know the words of love'. Nagiev is still carrying the New Year's humor, but he's also given up a lot in this regard. Location: Tyumen. Last New Year's reviews Bad reviews for the Last New Year's Last New Year's movie reviews2) Duo Valentina Mazunina + Anton Bogdanov. I don't get it, how did they manage to make purely comedic actors play some kind of melodramatic nonsense. Galya tries to reconcile her husband Denis with his father. A complete disaster that even Vera Brezhneva can't save. Location: Nizhny Novgorod Last New Year's reviews Last New Year's reviews Last New Year's movie reviews3) Duo Alexander Golovin + Alexander Domogarov Jr. Location: Perm. Instead of messing around with each other, they're trying to hit on a different woman again. This time it's a McDonald's saleswoman played by Daria Rudenko. She's actually And then there's the cast of Yolki Lastnie - a bunch of random people who were in the first Yolki movies. It's completely unnecessary and adds nothing to the story.
Bad reviews of Yolki LastnieBad reviews of Yolki Lastnie4) A random mix of Yulia Alexandrova (who's already a mom after the previous Yolki movies), Daniil Muravyov Izotov (that annoying kid from the new Yolki), Taisia Vilkova, and so on. They added Yuri Kuznetsov to the mix - he's the main character and plays a lonely pensioner, the father of Denis, husband of Galina (see point 2). This is the most annoying part of the movie that will completely kill any Christmas spirit. The setting is Nizhny Novgorod.
Reviews of the movie Yolki LastnieReviews of the movie Yolki Lastnie5) The usual duo of Ivan Urgant and Sergey Svetlakov. Of course, there's no humor here, and the story is completely unoriginal. Friends are getting separated because Yulia's Yakutian hectares of permafrost are more important to her than a comfortable life in St. Petersburg. Urgant and Svetlakov try to make jokes about politics and anti-Semitism, but it falls flat. The setting is St. Petersburg.
Yolki Lastnie movie reviewsReviews of the movie Yolki LastnieYolki Lastnie movie reviews6) The trio of Ekateryna Ageeva + Mark Bogatyrev + Yevgeny Egorov. A new and almost original story about a girl who's infatuated with a TV actor (Bogatyrev), but happiness is just around the corner - you just have to reach out. The second most original story after point 1. The setting is Voronezh.
7) The voiceover by Constantin Nosik is completely unnecessary and adds nothing to the story.
I've gotta say, I was really looking forward to watching Khabensky's latest film. And it turns out, he's even in the credits. You know how his "Sobibor" didn't make it to the Oscar shortlist in 2019? Yeah, now you know.
Last Yelki movie reviewsOverall, my impression after watching it is pretty negative. Each story gets taken to a point of no return that's just not fitting for a holiday movie. If they'd only had one of those "points of no return" that would've been bad enough, but they've got SIX of them! So at some point, the viewer gets hit with a ton of negativity, and no amount of resolution or fireworks on screen can save the situation. After watching "Yelki Last", I just want to go drink some vodka until I'm unconscious. They'll remind you of old age, loneliness, uncertainty, and thirty-three complexes you don't want to think about on New Year's Eve and the next two weeks of holidays. Apparently, it's the time of year when there are the most suicides and domestic violence - some people are left alone with themselves, while others have to put up with their loved ones 24/7, and then they show us this painful, raw stuff...
The movie's storyline is just a bunch of filler from the past few years and advertisements. The soundtrack is a collection of hits from Soviet-era disco - Pugachova, Allegrov, Korkorov, half of Breynevaya's discography, of course. The only standout track is that worn-out Monatik song "Kruzhit". Where's Monetochka? Where's El'dzhei and Big Baby Tape?
The ads are just as poorly integrated into the movie: they'll shove a pack of Chupa Chups in your face, or nonchalantly open a package from Beru.ru, or have some of the characters' social media posts randomly feature a Toy.ru banner.
My verdict: "Yelki Last" is a total disaster. They're like the Grinch - they steal the holiday spirit and your money for a ticket, and give you nothing in return. Luckily, they finally put this dead and rotting horse out of its misery, although the final speech from Bekmambetov, who destroyed both the fourth and fifth walls, is way too long and gives them a chance to spin this into a new part. But honestly, the 2019/2020 New Year's schedule is already pretty packed with Russian movies, and I don't think "Yelki" would've had a place there. I'm giving it two stars and wouldn't recommend it. Check out the trailer here: click!
Yours sincerely, Andy Goldred
