This was my first trip to the cinema in a few months and I left a little disappointed. I know that Coen Brothers films are normally made up different stories and characters but Hail Caesar! has too many unconnected parts, and too many pointless celebrity cameos. Scarlett Johannsen added nothing except a pretty face for the trailer. The main story involving George Clooney is the best one, and I would have been happy with just that. I wanted a bit of escapism, but the constant switches and irritating narration by Michael Gambon. Ralph Fiennes was of course excellent too, and I'd allow him to stay.
There is an attempt to create a mood of Hollywood's Golden Era, mixed with some film noir, as Josh Brolin acts exactly like he's in Sin City, but it's all a bit tongue in cheek and half hearted. The only scene I found funny was when the studio boss interviews the four religious leaders. In general the humour is very low key and I was surprised to hear the three other people in the cinema laughing out loud.
There are several extended scenes that take place on film sets, with lengthy musical numbers from different genres. While these are all quite entertaining they do nothing to move the story forward. In fact there isn't much story at all, which would be fine if there was a more consistent attempt to create an atmosphere. Instead I felt like it was jumping around with nothing building up. The denouement when Josh Brolin decides that actually he's going to stay in the crazy movie business is also rather flat. Frankly, I'd rather have watched Star Wars again.
