Burnt / YMMV - TV Tropes

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- Was Michel always planning to get revenge on Adam, or was Adam's abusive attitude in the kitchen just the last straw? His attitude when Adam yells at him in the kitchen right before he sabotages the Michelin meal lends credence to this idea.
- The infamous kiss between Adam and Tony lends itself to a few interpretations, especially in terms of Helene's reaction to it, as she's oddly nonplussed at seeing her boyfriend kiss another man right in front of her and is even happy about it. Since Tony's crush on Adam is implied to be an Open Secret among the kitchen staff, is she happy for Tony (who she's shown to be close with) and that he's getting some closure? Does she feel that her and Adam's relationship is secure enough that there's no way that him kissing Tony is indicative of them actually getting together? Does she just have a thing for seeing two men kiss?
  - It's also worth noting that Adam is the one who initiates the kiss instead of Tony. Did he kiss Tony out of gratitude for helping him and to give him a bit of validation as the narrative implies, or is he acting out of some latent romantic feelings for Tony that he might have?
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: Adam kissing Tony, in front of his own love interest, no less. While Tony has been established to have a crush on Adam, it's still a very weird moment, and it never gets brought up.
Critical Backlash: The film received pretty harsh negative reviews when it came out, but many viewers in the years since have noted that it's not that bad, and at the very least it's a flawed but still enjoyable and overall well-made drama about a chef trying to redeem himself.
Designated Hero: Adam is supposed to be the protagonist however he is shown to be at best an Anti-Hero. He takes advantage of Helene, who is in love with him, gets her fired from her job so he can hire her, and even physically abuses her at one point, frequently treats his staff (most of whom are his old friends) like dirt, acts incredibly pretentious, and yet we're supposed to root for him. One Rotten Tomatoes reviews even put it. "Will a horrible man achieve his dream of impressing the critics. Who cares?" Granted, his physical abuse of Helene is clearly portrayed as being a bad thing, and he does improve his attitude and try to become a better person, but many people felt that it rung hollow.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Tony became quite popular for being played by Daniel Brühl, being the most sympathetic and likeable character in the movie, his endearing personality, and his surprisingly adorable crush on Adam.
- Several of the supporting characters, especially Max, David, and Michel, are popular in their own rights.
Fanfic Fuel: Adam's early days as a chef in Jean-Luc's kitchen in Paris with Max, Tony, Michel, and Reece is ripe for fanfiction material, and there are indeed several fanfics that have focused on it.
Fan-Preferred Couple: Even though Adam/Helene is the Official Couple, Adam/Tony has far more support and fans due to Tony's popularity as a character and his crush on Adam, Bradley Cooper and Daniel Brühl's strong chemistry, and many finding Adam's relationship with Helene to be underdeveloped and rooted in toxicity.
Fan-Preferred Cut Content: The most popular scene in the movie is the one that was ultimately deleted. In it, Adam notices one of his waitresses crying, and Tony confirms that a customer harrassed her. Adam gets furious and marches to the customer to demand an apology, who only responds with an angry "go fuck yourself, mate". In response, Adam cleans the table on the spot and kicks them out while saying "thanks for dining at the Langham", leaving with their dishes while the rest of the dining room applauds.
Just Here for Godzilla:
- Some people have admitted to seeing the movie just for the scene in which Bradley Cooper and Daniel Brühl kiss.
- A lot of other people were only there to see the context of the scene where Adam kicks out a customer who was harassing a waitress, only to be disappointed upon learning that it's not actually in the final cut and that it's a Deleted Scene.
Narm Charm: While Adam trying to kill himself with a sous vide bag is a ridiculous concept, Bradley Cooper manages to completely sell it with his acting, being able to convey that Adam is at his lowest point and at his most vulnerable, turning that scene into a legitimate tearjerker. The part where he begs Reece to just let him die is particularly sad.
Rooting for the Empire: Several viewers cheered for Michel when he sabotaged the dish going to the Michelin inspectors as payback for what Adam did to him in Paris, due to wanting to see Adam being taken down a peg and for his revenge, while certainly ruthless, being understandable.
Signature Scene: The Deleted Scene where Adam stands up for a waitress and calmly kicks out a customer for harassing her regularly makes the rounds on social media and is generally cited as being the film's most well-known scene.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Despite being played by a very talented group of actors, most of the characters not named named Adam, Helene, or Tony have very little screentime after their introduction scene. This makes some scenes which are meant to be heartwarming or sad less impactful because none of them have had any proper development or enough of a relationship with Adam to evoke much emotion from the audience.
Unintentional Period Piece: The film was made at a time when it was trendy for fine-dining establishments to use sous-vide cooking. Not long after its release, there was a backlash against the method^note and restaurants abandoned it in favor of pans and ovens.

YMMV / Burnt

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