If there was one movie that seems to be doomed from the start, it was the reboot of the 1990 Kevin Bacon movie Flatliners. The reboot comes in an era that is beginning to see a decline in remakes. Most have asked why this film was even made? The 1990 film is a classic, but after almost 50 reviews, the new Flatliners film only has a 3% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Most of the critical reviews are consistent, saying that although the cast and the director are decent, the films’ screenplay is horrible. Not a single review said that the film was good, not even likeable. The film wasn’t screened for a lot of critics before its theatrical launch, but that is no excuse for a bad film.
Just how bad was the movie? To gauge that, we have to look at what other films currently hold a 3% or lower Rotten Tomatoes score. There are many films that hold this honor on Rotten Tomatoes, most of them for lack of reviews. A few of the more-notable films include The Disappointments Room, the Adam Sandler film The Ridiculous 6, and 2012s A Thousand Words. This shines a new light on just how bad this film might be.
With audiences, the film fared slightly better, with 43% enjoying the film. Flatliners grabbed $6.7 million in its opening weekend. The film hits theaters in the wake of a phenomenal IT reboot, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and the Tom Cruise-led American Made. This could be the reason that the film is underperforming, but bad screenwriting will trump all of this talk as more reviews pour in. In contrast to early reviews, Flatliners has a B- average at CinemaScore. This means that there still is a ray of hope for the film.
