Reviews
Young Washington
With the semiquincentennial of the United States of America just around the corner, what better way to celebrate than with a film about arguably the most famous Founding Father, George Washington. Looking to cash in on the festivities is Angel Studios, who, via Young Washington, have created an incredibly bland biopic that does not do even the slightest justice to the fascinating figure Washington was. Without a doubt, this is one of the festivities that should be instantly skipped during this year’s celebration of independence.
Covering the entirety of George Washington’s life would be an impossibility, so as the title suggests, Young Washington focuses on a time long before he became the famous general who fought British rule. Instead, it follows a young Washington (William Franklyn-Miller) as he seeks the approval of the British Army, aiming to become a commissioned officer and climb as high through the ranks as possible in his quest to become a respected leader within the forces.
With the British on the brink of war with a coalition of the French and Indians in the unclaimed territories, Washington is afforded the opportunity of a lifetime to lead the Virginia Militia in a dire time of need. Eager to prove his worth, he delivers just as many failures as successes, but it is in those failures that the man known around the world is forged. His resilience is impressive and his determination to achieve greatness never wavers as his journey unfolds.
On paper, the narrative for Young Washington sounds compelling and action packed. However, via a script from writers Tom Provost and Jon Erwin, who also directs, the result is the complete opposite. Instead, poor writing causes the pacing to suffer massively, with the film never really finding any momentum. There are long stretches of dull, monotonous plot filling, particularly when it comes to a forcibly inserted love interest that serves little to no purpose in advancing the narrative, instead derailing the more interesting elements almost entirely.
The battle sequences, which audiences will be crying out for in the hope of injecting some much needed life into the film, instead provide some of the most egregious use of generative AI to date. On multiple occasions during these “epic” battles, background soldiers appear to be completely suspended in time, frozen in unintentionally comical poses that bear no resemblance to how actual people move. The term “AI slop” is thrown around all too often these days, but for once it feels entirely appropriate to describe large portions of the more action packed scenes in Young Washington.
Even outside of those AI laden moments, the cinematography is bland at best. For large portions of the runtime it is dull and poorly lit, so whilst it is not inherently bad by any stretch, it never comes close to becoming any sort of technical marvel or providing visual flair. The gross overuse of nauseating shaky cam, even during some of the more practical action sequences, ensures audiences are left trying to figure out what is happening rather than becoming engrossed in the action as clearly intended.
Unfortunately for Franklyn-Miller, who is entrusted with his first leading role in a feature film, his performance is far from captivating. He is, of course, somewhat let down by the material he has been given, but even taking that into account, this is about as by the book as performances get. It feels as though he is simply going through the motions without ever becoming truly believable, particularly during the more emotionally charged moments.
As for the supporting cast, for the most part they are blameless. That is largely because none of them are given anywhere near enough screen time to leave a lasting impression or have much influence over the direction of the story. Headline names like Andy Serkis and Ben Kingsley are bound to attract interest, and while both are clearly committed, their roles are fleeting at best.
So while Young Washington will seek to take advantage of patriotic Americans throwing themselves into every possible celebration for the semiquincentennial, this may well prove to be the most disappointing of the lot. The story itself is not outright offensive, but the outrageous use of substandard generative AI certainly is, and ensures the experience feels like a chore to sit through. Safe to say, Young Washington is one to avoid.