[Review] Burnt

'Tis the season of biopics, and it's hard to believe that this film starring Bradley Cooper as a hard-living chef isn't actually based on Anthony Bourdain's life. In fact, this isn't a biopic at all. But the film is so bland that you'll likely get significantly more reward out of an episode of "No Reservations".

Chef Bradley Jones (Cooper) was a rising hot-shot chef living in Paris, but drug and alcohol addiction led him to lose his success. In an attempt to start again and earn an elusive *3rd* star, he heads a new restaurant in London, where he also meets love interest Helen (Sienna Miller).

Burnt just isn't that much of enjoyable or compelling experience. At best, we're shown some delectable shots of sizzling food, but we could also get those with a couple clicks via an Internet search if we wanted to. The less-than-intriguing plot never develops very smoothly, and the film loses any sense of identity in the process. The main character Jones is kind of an asshole, but he isn't an interesting asshole like this year's Steve Jobs portrayal. And whether you liked American Sniper or not, Bradley Cooper had much more room for an impressive lead performance in that.

You'd be better off checking out last year's cooking themed film Chef, which is so much more lively in multiple aspects. Ironically, Burnt is undercooked.

5.5/10