NO MAN OF GOD: Bill & Ted's Okay Adventure

NO MAN OF GOD (Blu-ray Review)

2021 / 100 min

FROM RLJE FILMS

Review by Tiger the Terrible😼

Ted Bundy was executed over 30 years ago and we’ve been getting countless books, movies & TV shows about him ever since. Some have been serious examinations of his psyche and notorious history, others were pure exploitation. So not only has he more-or-less remained in our public consciousness, every aspect of his story has pretty much been covered.

No Man of God treads familiar ground, with FBI profiler Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood) conducting numerous interviews with Bundy (Luke Kirby) during the years leading up to his execution. In addition to gaining valuable insight on what makes serial killers tick, he’s hoping Bundy will disclose all of his victims to account for many girls who’re still missing.

Ted Bundy...grumpy Gus.

Much of the narrative consists of these interviews, which are based on the actual transcripts. At first, they're verbal cat & mouse games similar to Silence of the Lambs (though not nearly as compelling). Bill eventually earns Ted’s trust, even developing sort of a friendship. However, we ultimately don’t learn anything new about Bundy, his crimes or these conversations. The performances are good and Kirby looks a lot like Bundy, but there’s nothing about the film that feels...well, necessary.

Competently made, No Man of God is a film with no highs or lows. The conversations are somewhat interesting without ever being revealing. It never explores Bundy’s story in much depth (luridly or otherwise), nor do we learn much about Hagmaier beyond a few confessions to his subject. In the end, this Bill & Ted adventure is watchable but unremarkable.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTE - A brief doc featuring interviews with the two stars.

DIGITAL COPY

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.