Bad Day at the Office

Chee Keong Cheung’s Bad Day at the Office begins as many stories have before: a man wakes up in a strange place with no recollection of how he got there. What follows is a multi-perspective, first-person shoot-em-up game come to life, text boxes and kill count included. It is less a film than an experience, replacing scenes with levels and stability with carnage. The result is admirably ambitious, but too disorienting to be exciting.

The man with no memory is soon revealed to be Karl (played by a very game John Hannah), and a lot of people want to kill him. Luckily, Karl soon discovers that he is more than capable of defending himself, while the plucky hotel maid Molly (Radha Mitchell) is quickly and unwittingly pulled into the action. And so begins a series of frantic action sequences across various London locales, all riddled with cartoonish bounty hunters hell-bent on Karl's demise. But as the bounty grows and truths are revealed, the film hints there may be more to this world than meets the eye.

The film wears its references on its sleeve — at one point, Molly even points out the similarities to 2009’s The Hangover. The more obvious comparison is to the experimental first-person action film Hardcore Henry, with just a dash of Scott Pilgrim’s stylings. The entire film feels like a shaky VR simulator attached to a contortionist. The camera twists and turns with such frantic, kinetic energy that it is more nauseating than immersive. It is a shame, then, that the camera so often obscures Eve Finnie’s impressive production design, which is both detailed and grotesque (a nightclub bathroom is a particularly gross highlight).

Hannah, in a mostly vocal role, is undeniably charming as Karl, although Cheung occasionally gives us some welcome glances at his by-turns bewildered and determined face. Mitchell is serviceable as Molly, but isn’t given nearly as much to do. The remaining cast are similarly subsumed by the film’s over-the-top style, although Tamer Hassan and Lana Parrilla rise above as energetic late additions to the ensemble.

The real star of the movie is its choreography, which is often excellent, if only the film gave it time to breathe. Cheung’s continuous maximalist approach and sheer quantity of repetitive action sequences ultimately leave the film rather hollow and draining, especially at its bloated runtime. But if you are looking for a balls-to-the-wall, sensory overload of an ode to video games, complete with excessive violence and crass humour, you’d be hard-pressed to find something more suitable.

A Bad Day At The Office will be in UK & Irish Cinemas from 30th October 2026.