Rhodes: A Heavy Look at an Empire Builder

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a weird itch to see how they made historical biopics back in the day. If you want a quick, punchy adventure, you'll probably hate it. It moves at the speed of a wagon train, which is fine if you're in the mood for it, but exhausting if you aren't.

There's a specific texture to Rhodes that feels like an old, slightly damp history textbook. The production design has that studio-bound stiffness that actually works in its favor here—it makes the whole thing feel trapped and claustrophobic, which fits the subject pretty well.

The man in the center

Walter Huston is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. He’s got that stare—you know the one—where he’s looking right through the person he’s talking to, probably calculating the value of the dirt beneath their feet. It’s a performance that doesn’t beg for your affection.

There’s this one scene where he’s just sitting there, counting out stones, and the camera lingers for about ten seconds too long. I found myself counting them with him. It was strangely hypnotic, even if the scene didn't really 'go' anywhere.

• The dialogue is incredibly formal, almost like everyone is reading from a manual on how to be important.
• The crowd scenes look a bit sparse, like the extras were told to just stand behind a bush and look busy.
• I kept thinking about how this compared to the mood in Okay America!, which felt way more frantic and alive.

The pacing is, well, it’s a choice. Sometimes it’s just people walking into rooms and discussing borders. Other times, it’s surprisingly brutal. It’s not a consistent watch, but it’s not meant to be.

I caught myself drifting off a few times during the middle act, only to be snapped back by a sudden, sharp bit of cruelty from Rhodes. It’s those moments—the ones where the mask slips just a tiny bit—that make it worth sticking around for.

It isn't trying to be a modern thriller. It's just a long, dusty march through a life that probably shouldn't have been glorified in the first place. You feel the weight of it. Maybe a bit too much weight. 🏜️