Hotel Artemis(2018)

Plot Summary

• On June 21, 2028, a riot breaks out in Los Angeles, centered around the privatization of water, and the lack of everyday folk being able to afford and access it. Taking advantage of the distraction the riot provides, a four-man crew (brothers Sherman (Sterling K. Brown) and Lev (Brian Tyree Henry), and miscreants Buke (Kenneth Choi) and P-22 (Josh Tillman)) rob a bank. Unable to break into the vault, they resort to stealing the belongings of the hostages, correctly deducing that, with the rioting outside, the wealthy will have sent their staff and hired help (being the people the crew has already taken hostage) to deposit their valuables in the bank's vault.In other words, they don't need to break into the vault, as many of the valuables are with the hostages already. Lev takes a male hostage's fancy pen despite being warned by the man not to. They attempt to escape and run into some cops whom they manage to kill. P-22 is killed and Buke and Lev are critically wounded. Sherman makes a phone call to Jean "the Nurse" Thomas (Jodie Foster) who runs the nearby Hotel Artemis, a hotel/hospital that only treats criminals, and has been running for 22 years. Artemis only takes in paid-up members, and whilst Sherman and Lev are allowed in, Buke is a non-member, and is kicked out by Everest (Dave Bautista), the Nurse's assistant.At the Hotel are two other guests. Code names for all guests are assigned based on the suite they are occupying. Sherman is code-named Waikiki, and Lev is code-named Honolulu. The other guests are code-named Acapulco (Charlie Day), and Nice (Sofia Boutella). The Nurse gets word from criminal Crosby Franklin (Zachary Quinto) that his father Orian "The Wolf King" Franklin, is en route and in need of immediate medical attention. Meanwhile, Waikiki catches up with Nice, who has moved on to work internationally while Waikiki has remained Stateside. When he reveals the pen his brother stole during the robbery, Nice explains that the pen is a mobile safe, and unlocks it to show it contains precious diamonds, saying they belong to the Wolf King (Jeff Goldblum), and reminding Waikiki that the Wolf King kills anybody who steals from him.To make matters worse, a wounded police officer named Morgan (Jenny Slate) arrives outside begging for medical attention from Thomas. Against Everest's warnings, Thomas ventures outside to bring Morgan in, but before they can get back inside, they are set upon by a group of rioters, and then the police. They are saved by an intervention from Everest. The Artemis does not help police, so Everest asks why Thomas has saved Morgan, and Thomas responds that she knew the officer "from before" which is why she is willing to break her own rules (the Artemis' regular lawbreaking customers will not go to a place where the police are allowed).Thomas had a son named Beau who was close friends with Morgan when they were younger. Beau ended up dying of an apparent drug overdose, leading to Thomas' alcoholism and losing her license to practice medicine, which in turn forced her to run the Hotel Artemis where, over the last 22 years, she has developed severe agoraphobia. Acapulco calls for a private helicopter to pick him up and, whilst waiting for it to arrive on the roof of the Artemis, he runs into Nice who beats him severely after revealing her target is the Wolf King himself. She then places a bomb on the building's generator.As Wolf King, Franklin, and their men show up, Everest secretly leads Morgan out of the building while Waikiki 3D prints a gun for protection. Due to the hotel's rules, Thomas only takes in Wolf King and leaves Crosby and his men in the lobby, after disarming them. The Wolf King leaves Crosby with a signet ring in case he doesn't survive the medical procedures he is about to go through and is given the additional code name "Niagara" because he is assigned the Niagara Suite in the hotel.Whilst under anesthesia, the Wolf King inadvertently mentions the name of Thomas' son, which she had never told him. Suspecting him of being involved in her son's death, she raises the level of drugs in his system, forcing him to reveal that Beau did not die of an overdose, but was killed for stealing his prized Porsche 911. Overcome with rage, Thomas prepares to kill him, but is distracted by the bomb blowing out the generator. This causes Honolulu's life support to turn off and frightens Acapulco's helicopter away. Nice sneaks in and kills Wolf King while Thomas is attempting to save Honolulu. Thomas is unable to save his life.Waikiki confronts Nice over Honolulu's death, saying she must have known that blowing out the generator would have terminated his life support, but before they get into it, they are both attacked by Acapulco. In the ensuing fight, Acapulco is killed by Waikiki, but not before being injured by gunfire. Crosby realizes the ring Niagara gave him is able to partially blow the security in the hotel lobby, and he and his men start to break their way into the hotel proper. With no other options, Waikiki and Nice decide to take Thomas and flee the Artemis. They run into Everest who pleads with his boss to leave and let him take care of things. Once at the elevator, Nice sends them down and accepts her lot in life as an assassin, asking Thomas to tell a now unconscious Waikiki why she did it. Nice and Everest take on multiple henchmen of The Wolf King in two separate parts of the hotel.Thomas tends to Waikiki in the lift on the way down, but they are confronted by Crosby whilst leaving the hotel. Waikiki offers him the pen and the millions of dollars in jewels it contains in exchange for their freedom, and he accepts it as trade for Waikiki's freedom, but refuses to let Thomas go, holding her accountable for the death of Niagara. A weakened Waikiki and Crosby fight briefly before Thomas stabs Crosby with a baby elephant tranquilizer, killing him. Leaving the hotel, Thomas overcomes her agoraphobia, and gets a sense of relief despite the ongoing riot.Once at Waikiki's car he prepares for them both to leave, but Thomas chooses to stay as she still feels a desire to help those who need it, implying that she will perhaps open the Artemis (or some other facility) to others now that Niagara and Crosby are dead. Waikiki thanks Thomas and leaves to get help at another hospital in Las Vegas. Everest, having triumphed in his fight, puts on his nursing badge and turns on the Hotel Artemis' sign as Thomas is seen walking through the city.In a mid-credits scene, a shadowy figure runs across the screen, suggesting Nice may have survived.

Storyline

• On June 21, 2028, a riot breaks out in Los Angeles over the affordability and availability of water after it is privatized. Taking advantage of the distraction, a four-man crew of brothers Sherman and Lev and miscreants Buke and P-22 rob a bank. Unable to break into the vault, they steal from hostages at the bank, realizing that they were mainly staff of the wealthy sent to deposit valuables into the vault. Lev takes a male hostage's fancy pen despite being warned by the man not to. During their escape, an encounter with the police leaves P-22 dead and Buke and Lev critically wounded. They make their way to the nearby Hotel Artemis, a hotel/hospital that only treats criminals, run by Jean "the Nurse" Thomas. The Hotel only treats members who are paid-up in advance, so Sherman and Lev are allowed in while Buke as a non-member is kicked out by Everest, the Nurse's assistant. At the Hotel are two other guests. Code names for all guests are assigned based on the suite they are occupying. Sherman is code-named Waikiki, and Lev is code-named Honolulu. The other guests are code-named Acapulco, and Nice. The Nurse gets word from criminal Crosby Franklin that his father Orian "The Wolf King" Franklin, is en route and in need of immediate medical attention. Meanwhile, Waikiki catches up with Nice, who has moved on to work internationally while Waikiki has remained Stateside. When he reveals the pen his brother stole during the robbery, Nice explains that the pen is a mobile safe, and unlocks it to show it contains precious diamonds, saying they belong to the Wolf King, and reminding Waikiki that the Wolf King kills anybody who steals from him. To make matters worse, a wounded police officer named Morgan arrives outside begging for medical attention from Thomas.. Los Angeles, June 21st, 2028. While the streets are being torn apart by riots, the Nurse (Foster), who runs a clandestine hospital for criminals in the penthouse of the Artemis, a closed old hotel, has a rough night dealing with troublemaker clients: thieves, assassins, someone from the past and the one who owns the place and the whole city. In Los Angeles in the near future, the worst riots the city has ever seen have broken out, with many criminals taking advantage of such. In the process, many of those criminals are seriously injured. Some are able to take refuge at the Hotel Artemis, a secret member's only (i.e. prepaid) hospital solely for criminals, its owner hiring the no-nonsense Nurse twenty-two years ago when the facility opened, she not having stepped foot outside since in her agoraphobia due to the death of her son. The only other staff member on duty at this time is Everest, the orderly. There are strict rules in the hotel of which its members are well aware, such as no killing other members inside, no weapons and no guests for protection of the members in being both a refuge and care facility. The hotel seems to be verging on the brink of potential chaos as the riots get closer and closer, as those inside the hotel, not just relegated to the clients, are seemingly incompatible, and as long held secrets come to light. — Huggo