Best-known as the writer of Iron Man 3, Drew Pearce makes his directorial debut with 2018’s Hotel Artemis. Set in LA circa 2028, The Nurse (Jodie Foster) operates a location called “Hotel Artemis” as a members-only hospital that tends to criminals on an emergency basis.

After a bank robbery goes wrong, “Waikiki” (Sterling K. Brown) brings his injured teammates to the Hotel – along with a fortune in jewels. This leads to complications from both cops and crooks.

Though the flick looked interesting, I didn’t see Artemis theatrically, and I had a lot of company. The movie made less than $7 million in the US and left screens in the blink of an eye.

I can’t claim this creates a tragedy, as Artemis doesn’t quite connect. While it delivers some good moments, it fails to come together in a satisfying manner.

The movie’s biggest flaw comes from sluggish pacing during its first two acts. Artemis spends much of that cinematic real estate on character exposition, and these moments frustrate.

It feels odd to criticize an action flick for too much dramatic material, as usually films like this usually falter in that department. However, I simply feel like Artemis delays its main purpose for too long.

By “main purpose”, I mean its action beats. We do get occasional bursts of mayhem in the first two acts, but those character beats dominate, and these create impatience in the viewer.

All I really want from a movie like Artemis is kick-ass action. A little exposition seems fine, but we need more consistent violence to make the story work.

We do get that kind of material in the third act, and unsurprisingly, this portion of the film fares best. Pearce stages the chaos in a brisk, bracing manner that briefly allows Artemis to live up to its potential.

Artemis also comes with an unusually good cast for this kind of tale. In addition to Foster and Brown, we get talent like Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day, Jeff Goldblum, Jenny Slate, Dave Bautista and others. It seems like an overqualified collection for this movie, but they add some class to the proceedings.

I just wish Artemis offered a more engaging action experience. I like the third act enough that it almost redeems the rest of the movie, but this doesn’t quite prove true, so Artemis becomes an erratic effort.

Hotel Artemis appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Across the board, this was an appealing transfer.

Sharpness looked fairly strong. Low-light interiors could seem a smidgen soft at times, but most of the film appeared accurate and well-defined.

Jagged edges and moiré effects remained absent, while edge haloes also failed to appear. Print flaws stayed absent as well.

Like most modern films of this sort, Artemis went with teal and orange. These tones seemed predictable, but they worked fine within the movie’s design parameters and showed good delineation.

Blacks were dark and tight, while shadows showed nice clarity and smoothness. I thought this was a consistently positive image.

I also felt pleased with the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack. With a fair amount of action on display, the mix used the channels in an involving manner throughout much of the film.

This meant gunfire and other mayhem all around the room, and the elements connected in a concise, smooth way. Add to that music as a bold partner and the soundscape turned into an aggressive partner.

Audio quality always satisfied. Music was dynamic and full, and effects followed suit, so those components came across as accurate and well-developed.

Speech seemed distinctive and crisp, without edginess or other issues. Everything impressed in this well-rendered soundtrack.

In terms of extras, we only get one: an audio commentary from writer/director Drew Pearce and producer Adam Siegel. Both sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story/characters, sets and locations, cast and performances, stunts and action, music, effects, and connected domains.

Expect a fast, breezy commentary, as the chatty Pearce maintains a lively tone from start to finish. Siegel chimes in with good counterpoints as well, and the pair mesh to make this a fun and informative piece.

With a strong cast and an exciting third act, Hotel Artemis almost earns my recommendation. However, the first hour drags too much and packs in elevated melodrama, factors that make the end result spotty. The Blu-ray brings very good picture and audio along with a strong audio commentary. Artemis doesn’t flop but it doesn’t live up to expectations either.