User reviews

Movies like burnt are so frustrating to watch and in cases like this, the fault almost always lies with the director and / or meddling producers. I am not 100% sure, but I believe that this script was on the black list and even if it was not it probably was damn good to attract the acting talent to such a project. The acting was well done (no pun intended) and none of the actors mailed in their performance. So why does the sum equal less than the parts?

In my reviews, I like to rate movies based on promise and delivery. The trailer is the promise and the viewing experience is the delivery. And I always try to give films the benefit of the doubt. Rating a movie a 1 or a 10, is not helpful to your fellow users.

When you decide to spend your valuable time and money on burnt, you know you're not getting a big budget, special effects extravaganza or a gripping whodunit. You want the movie to show you the inner workings of a kitchen, the struggle and cut throat atmosphere of creating and maintaining a top rated restaurant and some relationship drama that feels possibe. Doesn't have to be good will hunting emotion, but enough to keep us invested. The story and character motivations should never be so illogical or vague as to distract the viewer.

Burnt is not a complete misfire. I enjoyed the scenes in the restaurant kitchen, they were beautiful shots. And most of the scenes themselves were well acted, Bradley seemed invested in the role. The role actors also did an adequate job. The major problem was there was no real tension. The stakes never seemed remotely high.

SMALL SPOILERS: Bradley's character had a vague back story about drug abuse and wanting redemption, but he never seemed to really struggle. He vanishes from the restaurant scene after burning out, and then, after some self penance, he is able to finagle his way into running a brand new restaurant and in no time at all wins a Michelin star? There is some tension with the debt he owes, but you never feel worried because he could always borrow the money from the super rich Maître d'. And in the end his gorgeous ex waltzes in and pays it off?

You can tell as you watch the movie that there are some plot points that were probably compelling in the screenplay, but unfortunately just got lost in translation. I read that when the movie was edited, an actor's entire role was edited out. Maybe that was why the movie seemed kind of disjointed. Every genre of movie has fatal flaws. In niche genres like this, you never want your movie to feel "like a day in the life". It's a movie, give us some stakes. Burnt felt like I got a behind the scenes peek at running a top restaurant. If I wanted that I could watch a 30 minute Food Network show.

Final verdict: Bradley Coopers fans would enjoy. Otherwise, wait till it comes out NetFlix and you're bored one rainy night.

This question probably makes more sense in the forum section, but I find it an interesting parallel. Another food movie came out around the same time called Chef. It was marketed more as a family drama / feel good, subtle comedy. The main character also finds semi redemption by falling back in love with cooking, by going back to the basics after burning out. He also reconnects with his young son. I had the same after taste watching that movie. Cool scenes involving food, but no real stakes or unexpected turns. That movie, however, got stellar reviews. Sometimes I just do not understand professional movie critics at all.

Despite some pretty bad reviews I think it's a pretty strong movie. Especially for people who love to cook of like high-end dining, it's a great movie. Burnt gives an excellent look in the world of high- end dining and professional kitchens. Bradley Cooper puts on a good performance and makes the experience very real. The evolution his character makes may be a little predictable, but I think that's not a bad thing. You should not underestimate the acting skills of Bradley Cooper. The character is written for him in my opinion. Also the character that's played by Daniel Brühl, Tony, is an interesting one and I think that Daniel performs this role outstandingly. Tony is a very proper and tight man, but his character evolves during the movie into a very pleasant one. Brühl makes his character very real with the accent and a particular way he moves in. The plot of the movie may be a little predictable, but that's not a problem. I think all the roles are filled in nicely and all of the characters make the story into a real experience, not only about cooking but also about the difficult world of a Michelin-star restaurant. Summarized I can say this movie is a must-see for people who love cooking and things like that. It's not a mind-blowing story, but in combination with some great acting it makes the movie worth watching. An average of 6,7 is way to low for this movie in my opinion.

There are a lot of movies out there where the leader of a team, talented, strict and know-it-all, tries to discipline his group, in the background of a match or a contest of some sort. Music, sports, army, classes, even spelling contests and of course ...haute cuisine.

Common factor in all these movies: The leader ...yells a lot! And he is mean to his pupils. And he doesn't forgive the tinniest of mistakes. And he has enemies. Or rivals. And an old teacher who was mean to him like he is now mean to them. And there is a purpose. A trophy. And a love subject.

Pretty much this summarize Burnt too. So, the premise is not so original but in the end it's all about the execution and the fun and the interest.

Well, I think in this department 'Burnt' succeeds. The plot has some clever twists. The pace of the film is right and there are some great natural performances especially from the chameleon actress Sienna Miller and the always serious Daniel "Nikki Lauda" Brühl.

You wont get any cuisine lessons with this movie though. I know this is not the point, but other movies leave you with some knowledge and an increased interest about the special craft. What is that haute cuisine all about? We only get a glimpse of that. Something about 'Culinary Orgasms' but we never get to understand what this could actually be.

Overall: Not boring. Good Pace. Miller's and Brühl's performances are very good. Plus the movie itself is not ...fattening! (unless you eat a lot of popcorn!) So, What else do you need?

John Wells helms a good movie, but he doesn't have a big rad plot to save him. A washed out burnt down Chef has cleaned up, buffed his act up, and put himself together in an endeavour to pursue perfection. He is reaching out for a third Michelin star and anything less would end up getting burnt by his wrath.

So we know how recalcitrant chefs are. Seen enough Gordon Ramsay to reach that conclusion. Bradley as Adam Jones touches that nerve wrecking breakdown to achieve what he has planned to do. He shouts, despises, scorns and insults his crew to get their juices running. He doesn't care how evil he might look or sound while trying to get results. He is unaffected by emotions, reckless with his life but careful with the food he is preparing. If his preparation doesn't meet the standard in his head, he flings it away and doesn't even hold himself from bashing it to the wall.

He might be a man with a mission, but he is arrogant, mean and a heartless prick. He is also in a huge drug debt which gawks him from a distance, and occasionally batters him up good. He is trying hard to reach it, and there is always someone or something that messes him up and compels him to start at Ground Zero.

What is quite interesting to watch is the brilliant presentation of its frames. The food shown in Burnt will at once make you hungry. There are great close up shots that will sizzle your palates. But everything disappears leaving you wanting for more. Also, there isn't one great recipe that is highlighted marvelously or shown being cooked proper which will bum foodies out. The story lacks substance which is sad. Screenplay of the flick is good. The score is kind of okay, but could have used some more depth.

Cooper fans are gonna love him in this new avatar. His acting is still very engaging. His dramatic bits are great to watch and Siena Miller complements him yet again quite beautifully. Daniel Bruhl plays Tony beautifully too. Emma Thompson has been given some marvelous lines, while Alicia Vikander has kind of a cameo in there.

Remember the golden rule to truly enjoy anything: Don't compare! Burnt shouldn't be compared with other similar culinary movies in the library and you might relish it.

This gem of a movie came out in 2015. Quick cuts initially, focused on the story of the movie and not wasting the viewers time to set up the film. For people who like indie films with a setup and purpose this has been living in the shadows for a lot of people who enjoy films. I am biased towards films that have an indie feel to it and have great music playing in the background.

This film is a great watch for viewers who are interested in what goes behind in making fine dining food and showing it as an indie movie. Bradley cooper plays the part of "genius who threw it all away" very well. The "gifted but tormented" trope may have been used by a lot of film makers but a few have been able to justify it. And this film certainly does it with style. This redemption story comes with its set of subtle twists and turns. But it keeps the story centered on the heart of the film. Watch it if you like food, what goes on in making great food and people who strive for perfection in making that food.

"It must be great. Bradley Cooper acts in award winning film." But no. It's the same movie that every other actor has done at least once in their career. The lead is arrogant, chip on their shoulder, lacks social skills, loner by choice... There is sexual tension with opposite sex (usually) supporting character. This tension helps the lead start to let down their guard. Something happens that upsets the lead so bad they are worse than every before. Then the lead has a mental break down. The opposite sex character helps pick them up. Usually at that same time the sexual tension is broken. The lead makes peace with their demons from the past. Voila!! He/she is no longer an angry prick but a lovable person with great social skills. It all revolves around an unique career, skill or hobby. The only reason to watch the film. In this movie it is world class chef, but it could be a snake milker, innovative uke player or a deep sea crab hunter.

Having worked in kitchens i found this incredibly realistic and everything in this film stays true to the life of so many chefs abusing substances and their passion controlling their lives. I'm not normally a fan of Bradley Cooper, however i was amazed to see his acting talents here and how true he was to a real chef. Definitely a game changer for his career after being unimpressed with him in hangover or wedding crashes.

If you have a passion for anything i think you'll like this film, it simply displays every aspect of what people go through when they're putting everything in their being into something, when it's all in, all or nothing, life and death.

9/10. A must see for all food lovers.

Your enjoyment of this movie will depend on whether or not you buy into the 'chef as a rockstar' myth which is so popular these days. If you do, you will love this and find the tortured central character fascinating. If, like me, you don't feel the ability to make a decent steak and chips automatically entitles you to behave like an arsehole, well, you might struggle with the flimsy material.

Bradley Cooper is decent enough, although his conversion from narcissistic control freak who treats everyone like crap to all round nice guy who proclaims, there's no I in team, is unconvincing. The best thing in this film is Sienna Miller who gives another great performance; in fact, her character is much more interesting than Cooper's. Which is a slight problem. Burnt is hugely uneven, then, although always interesting when Miller is on screen. When she's not and instead we get yet another scene in which Cooper acts like a complete jerk, I found myself daydreaming about being chased by a giant hamburger who wanted to eat me!

Lemme guess he used to be great but 'threw it all away'. He's on a mission of personal redemption. Every one love hates him. He falls in love with his chief competition who of course hates him and adores him. He's substituted drugs and booze for being a colossal a-hole user of people because he's just that talented. He IS the most interesting man in the world. Before him no one ate food. Other than that this is movie where you hear Bradley speak pretty French where you watch people make and eat pretty good food and there's a lot and I mean a lot of histrionics.

A must see for those interested in the inner workings of a restaurant kitchen and the world of high end chefs. Most people have no clue what it is like to be at the top of the restaurant world or how difficult it is to be in this type of a service profession. The intense pressure they put on themselves to be "perfect". Is the movie a bit disjointed along the way, yes but the acting is stellar and its worth it just to see the food prep and get the overwhelming inside experience. Bradley Cooper is fantastic! Very good supporting actors. Many of them are unknowns. The kitchen scenes are the best. Watching the process and the artistry is a unique peek behind the kitchen doors. Go see this one!!

Quickie Review:

Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) is a gifted chef who ruined his life and career with drugs and alcohol. Determined to get set his life and career ambitions straight, he returns to London to lead his kitchen to Michelin star status. Burnt is packed with talented actors such as Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, and Daniel Brühl. A lot of the weight of the movie is on their shoulders, unfortunately they could not carry it all the way through. The main problem is the beats the movie goes through are largely predictable. Quality performances make Burnt an acceptable, decent film, albeit a forgettable one.

Full Review:

Was I excited for Burnt? Honestly, not really. Then again looking at the cast I thought you couldn't go wrong to give this movie a chance. After all last year I saw Chef another foodie related drama that I happen to really like. I also like the TV show Hell's Kitchen, so any flair of Gordon Ramsay should be fun.

Actually Bradley Cooper ended up being more like Gordon Ramsay than I expected. He is a hot head, striving for perfection, and if you do anything wrong, there's going to be a huge mess of broken plates to clean up. As brilliant of a chef as Jones may be, his weakness in the kitchen is that he is old school. So seeing him fit back into the changed world of high class cuisine was interesting. Sienna Miller was also a good addition, as she's the only one who is able to stand up to the head chef. This led to some interesting face-offs in difference of opinions. For me, the best of the three main cast was Daniel Brühl. This actor deserves more praise than he receives. His portrayal of the character is subtle, his actions are motivated by love but he never draws focus to it. To him he is just doing favour or a job, nothing more. In many ways that made him feel more real of a person than any other character in the film.

That being said, I couldn't really care for the character development for long because I knew exactly where everyone was going to end up being. This includes the obligatory love story, the sweet moment with a kid, and the acceptance of responsibilities of a leader. As in any typical story structure there has to be a crisis. However, in this film that crisis occurs way too abruptly. I'll admit that in that point in the story the moment was very effective, but then every character conveniently changes to their perfect selves… I didn't see anything before that said these people were on their way to better themselves, and all that was needed was a catalyst. In other words, things happen in this movie not because it's a coherent flow to the story, but because it must fit the typical story structure of beginning, middle, climax, and resolution. So there all these pieces to the movie that are good on their own, but don't fit well together.

By no means do I hate this movie. It is sufficient. If you are looking for some good performances with great looking food being prepared by great looking people, you couldn't ask for anything more perfect. On the other hand if you require a little more meat to the bone (substance to the story), you are better off waiting.

Burnt is a film about a chef (Bradley Cooper) who opens a high-end restaurant after being fired from his previous one. The kitchen heats up as he battles with his overworked team while dealing with his own inner demons. The film is a mix of passion and self-destruction, with a talented cast led by Cooper. The plot may not be very interesting, but the visuals and the intense kitchen scenes are enough to make you want to watch the movie.

Cooper shines in Burnt, playing a character who is flawed but determined. The world of high-end fine dining is in full swing, with tantalizing visuals that will tantalize your tastebuds. Burnt might not be a great film, but it is a satisfying drama for drama lovers.

Obviously kids are giving rates on IMDb, so јudge movie by it's IMDb rating is ridiculous.

I personally hope that IMDb will hide its rating, or at last categorize it somehow, because to be able to fully understand some movies you need to fit the criteria, and in this movies case:

A. You are aged over 20 B. You tried to accomplish something in your life C. You cooked at last 100 meals :) D. You are driven by passion in your life

In my humble opinion, Bradly Cooper's acting is awesome, I didn't really expect he can handle such complex personality well, but he nailed it.

The plot and storyline are perfect. I rarely feel so motivated and inspired after a movie. So, my thanks to the director, writers, actors and producers for creating this movies!

Keep up the good work!

This was the only one of the current movies playing at the cinema my friend works at that I hadn't seen yet that I was willing to watch. It was quite entertaining as it went along the narrative. Bradley Cooper plays a once-disgraced chef trying a comeback. So he goes to England where his former boss from France has another restaurant operating there and attempts to work for him again. He also gets some of his former crew back. Then there's a female chef (Sienna Miller) who also reluctantly agrees to work for him. That's because despite his recovery from various vices, he's still quite a jerk as my friend pointed out in the middle of the film. In summary, Burnt took a while but I was pretty entertained as was my friend. Oh, and nice reunion between Cooper and Miller from American Sniper.

The only good thing about this movie is the theme. I love cooking, and I'm a foodie, so obviously the theme appealed to me. Unfortunately, this movie is predictable and shallow. Shame. I won't bother listing all the flaws. If you've seen it then you know what I mean.

I also just want to say: why in the hell would she kiss him after he grabbed her shirt and screamed in her face? For me, that would be the nail in the coffin on any possibility of a relationship. In fact, I found his behaviour throughout the whole movie to be completely over-the-top.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Burnt" (2015) is another very solid movie in so called "food movies" like "Chef" (2014) - there aren't many of them, both loved them both. They are very different actually. That said "Burnt" isn't just about the creating of food, it is a about a very flawed character, who tries to put together his life back on track as well as receiving a 3rd Michelin star - which would make him a "Yoda" of chefs as one character puts it.

"Burnt" is very well paced, and although it's editing might distract someone (very quick cuts a la Michael Bay style), it fits very well into showing what is happening in the kitchen while you are waiting for your order. It's very nicely acted, especially by Sienna Miller who is becoming one of hardest to recognize people in movies these days - she is always looks and sounds different - she might pick up Oscar nomination one day (not for this movie though).

Overall, "Burnt" is very good movie, and it has lots of action... in the kitchen. If you like these kind of movies, you will probably enjoy this picture as well.

Review: I quite enjoyed this movie, mainly because of Bradley Coopers performance and the original concept but I would have liked to have seen more depth to the various characters, who constantly get shouted at in the kitchen. Its not a big shock that Gordon Ramsay produced this movie, because of the way that the head chef, Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper) belittles the cooks and strives for perfection and the director cleverly added other elements, like the love story between Adam and Helene (Sienna Miller) and the debt collectors who are hunting down Adam for there money. I also liked Tony (Daniel Bruhl) character, who secretly loved Adam but knew that there relationship would never turn out to be more than friendship. The director could have given Michel (Omar Sy) a bit more depth and it did seem like Adam was going a bit overboard to get the extra Michelin star but I don't know anything about that world so I can't comment on how real the competition is between the head chefs. I find it hard to imagine why someone would want to get into a profession were you get treated like a lab rat and have to work your fingers to the bone, without much appreciation but once you become the head chef, it must be a nice feeling to have full control of bringing beautiful and tasteful food to the masses. Personally, I'm not one to pay loads of money for a lettuce leaf on a plate, with little swirls around the edges but thats just me. Anyway, from an entertainment point of view, this movie is quite good and straight to the point and the mixture of drama and wit really worked in an environment which is so tense and full of pressure. Enjoyable! 

Round-Up: With all of the hype that surrounded this movie on its release, I really thought that it made more money at the box office. Bradley Cooper, 41, who first came to light in the Wedding Crashers in 2005, can't seem to do anything wrong lately, and with 4 movies in pipeline along with Aloha and Joy due to be released, he has a lot to be thankful for. This movie was directed by John Wells, 59, who also brought you the Company of Men and August: Osage County. He hasn't got much experience behind the camera, but he done a great job with this movie, mainly because it delves into a world which is unknown to many people. The person who really made this project a success, has to be Bradley Cooper, who showed realism and emotion throughout the movie and each character played a part in making this an enjoyable watch.

Budget: $20million Worldwide Gross: $35.6million

I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy/dramas starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Omar Sy, Daniel Bruhl, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, Lily James and Riccardo Scamarcio. 6/10

This movie was pretty pointless. It was more about dressing up Bradley Cooper as a Chef and hoping for the best. The story was bland and even the cookery was outdated. A dish that should not have been served.

I just don't understand how studios can invest so much time and money into a movie and then produce such an uninteresting and meaningless film. Do they not watch it and realize how bad it is? I can only guess that some executive thought that pairing Cooper with the hot trend in cooking and cooking shows would be an instant hit. Well, you can pair the most expensive wine with Burger King and there's a high probability that you won't enjoy the meal.

The movie overall was shot well and the acting was fine. It just went nowhere in the end. Sure, many viewers will just enjoy watching Cooper in a Chef's coat and without, but if you're expecting anything more than that cancel your reservation for this one.