Hotel Artemis

Hotel Artemis is an American feature film of the crime thriller genre. It was written and directed by Drew Pearce. It was produced by Ink Factory, Marc Platt Productions and Point of No Return and released theatrically on June 8th, 2018. The film features an ensemble cast starring Jodie Foster as Nurse Jean Thomas, Sterling K. Brown as Sherman, Sofia Boutella as Nice, Jeff Goldblum as the Wolf King, Brian Tyree Henry as Lev, Jenny Slate as Morgan, Charlie Day as Acapulco, Zachary Quinto as Crosby Franklin, and Dave Bautista as Everest.

Plot
It is the year 2028. The water supply in the Los Angeles area has been privatized, leaving major corporations such as Clearwater in control of the city's water supply. As a result, riots have broken out all across the city. A private security firm called ProShield has been deployed to quell the violence.

A man named Sherman his brother Lev, and several others rob a bank. Unable to break into the vault, they decide to steal the valuables of rich account holders by holding their employees - customers of the bank - hostage. The plan goes sideways and the crew tries to escape down a back alley. One of them inadvertently draws the attention a riot control officer and shots are exchanged. Sherman takes mild damage due to wearing a kevlar vest, but Lev is gravely injured.

Sherman manages to escape with his brother and brings him to the Hotel Artemis. It is a hotel in name only, and is actually a hospice that caters exclusively to the needs of the criminal underworld. Admission to the hotel is by membership only, and members require an ID chip implanted in their wrist in order to be admitted.

The hotel is owned by a crime kingpin named Orian Franklin, aka the Wolf King. However, it is managed by nurse Jean Thomas - a former medical professional who lost her license to practice medicine due to alcoholism, which came about as a result of the tragic loss of her son, Beau, who reportedly overdose on drugs. The only other employee of the hotel is Everest, a hulking orderly who is fiercely loyal to Jean Thomas. The Hotel Artemis identifies its patients by code names, which are all based on notable locations. As such, Sherman is renamed Waikiki, Lev is called Honolulu, etc. Jean Thomas goes over the rules of the hotel, which includes a prohibition against weapons, as well restrictions on any acts of violence against other patients or staff. One of Sherman's colleagues, Buke, does not have membership, so Everest has to take him out into the streets where he will take his chances with the police.

In the meantime, Jean takes a biopsy of Lev's liver, and clones it, feeding the material into a 3D printer that replicates a new liver for him. However, due to his history of drug abuse, his liver is poisoned, and the replacement is merely a stopgap measure.

Other "guests" at the hotel include Acapulco, who is an entitled foul-mouthed arms dealer and all-around whiner, and Nice (pronounced Neese, like the French city), who is an alluring French assassin. Acapulco is there to receive treatment for a damaged eye, but Nice is there for an entirely different matter. She is on the job, and actually had to shoot herself just to gain entry to the hotel.

Nice is working for some unidentified organization based out of Detroit, Michigan. Her target is actually the Wolf King himself. She has learned that the Wolf King has survived an attempt on his life and is en route to the hotel for treatment.

Things get even more complicated when Jean Thomas takes note of an image on one of her exterior cameras. A female cop has been injured and is begging to be let in. Jean recognizes the officer as Morgan, who grew up with her son, Beau. Violating the rules of the hospital, Jean has Everest bring Morgan inside, where she tends to her injuries. She then has Everest escort her through a basement exit. Sherman comes upon them and take note of Morgan's boots, recognizing her as a cop. The Wolf King arrives at the hotel with his entire entourage in attendance, which includes his son, Crosby. Jean is very nervous about having him here, but rushes him in to surgery. During the procedure, the Wolf King brings up the subject of Jean's late son. She then learns that Beau did not die of an overdose, but rather the Wolf King had him killed for stealing his car. He defends his actions by saying, "You know the score... I had to make an example. I gave him back to the ocean".

On the roof of the hotel, Nice finds Acapulco, who has summoned an air limousine (helicopter) to fly him out of the city. Nice has business to conduct and she cannot be bothered with the excitable little man, so she incapacitates him. She sets a bomb that shuts down all power to the building.

When the power goes out, Lev, who is still on life support following his surgery begins faltering. Jean rushes out of the Wolf King's room to attend to Lev, with Sherman going into a panic and coaxing her on. She is too late, however, and Lev dies. Nice finds her opportunity to get into the Wolf King's room. She leans in close and holds a blade to his throat. The Wolf King is defiant and even tries to buy her off, but she will not go back on a contract. He says, "Well, send me down the river", and Nice rips his throat out. She then returns to her room to arrange for her payment.

Sherman goes into a room where he finds Nice. He blames her for cutting the power, which resulted in Lev's death. He points a gun at her, which he crafted from the 3-D print, but then Acapulco enters the room and shoots him in the side. Acapulco plans on finishing Nice off himself, but Sherman comes up behind him and shoots him. He then puts Acapulco's head into the 3-D printer, which kills him.

By this point, Crosby and the rest of the Wolf King's brood are tired of waiting behind locked gates. They batter down the gates and lay siege to the hospital. Everest helps Sherman and Jean Thomas out the back exit. He stays behind to buy them time. Everest engages Crosby's men and miraculously survives. Nice has her own showdown with some mobsters and shows them no mercy.

Sherman and Jean Thomas manage to get outside, but are met by Crosby. They succeed in killing him, and make their way through the riot to Sherman's getaway car. Jean decides to stay, but she tells Sherman of another hotel, the Apache in Las Vegas, where he can treatment for his gunshot wound.

Everest fixes the power generators and turns the neon sign for the Hotel Artemis back on.

Fun Facts

 * The tagline for this film is "Hotel Artemis. An escape for the discriminating criminal. Come take refuge awhile".


 * Actors Zachary Quinto and Sofia Boutella also co-starred together in Star Trek Beyond. Quinto played the role of Spock and Boutella played the role of Jaylah.

Rules of Membership
The Hotel Artemis has three major rules governing its client/customer base.
 * Membership ID chip required.
 * No weapons allowed inside the hotel.
 * No law-enforcement officers of any kind admitted as patients.
 * No killing of the other patients/guests.

Recommendations

 * Atomic Blonde - Also stars Sofia Boutella
 * Baby Driver - For crime/action fans
 * Brave One, The - Jodie Foster film.
 * Guardians of the Galaxy - Dave Bautista film.
 * Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - Dave Bautista film.
 * Guns, Girls and Gambling - For crime/action fans
 * Iron Man 3 - Also written by Drew Pearce
 * Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - Also written by Drew Pearce.
 * Star Trek Beyond - Stars Zachary Quinto & Sofia Boutella

Keywords
2028 | 21st century | Alcoholism | Assassin | Bank robbery | California | Corpse | Crime boss | Exploding vehicle | Eye injury | Gunshot victims | Helicopter | Henchman | Hologram | Hospital | Hotel | Los Angeles | Los Angeles County | Machine gun | Nurse | Orderly | Pistol | Shot in the head | Shotgun | Slit throat | Smoking | Stabbing | Throat injuries | Wheelchair