43
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 65SlashfilmJason GorberSlashfilmJason GorberThe scares are more textural than truly creepy, and they’re certainly overshadowed by what’s primarily a character piece, with each person’s fears and anxieties literally manifesting as part of the storyline.
- 60Los Angeles TimesTracy BrownLos Angeles TimesTracy BrownBoone’s film does demonstrate that there are different ways to approach these franchises outside of the binary of lighthearted/fun and dark/gritty movies that permeate the superhero genre.
- 55TheWrapMichael NordineTheWrapMichael NordineWhile it’s never actively bad, The New Mutants rarely imbues any of its happenings with any real heft. Like the remote hospital that serves as its setting, the film as a whole feels too closed off from the rest of its fictional universe to matter much.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerThe Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerGeneric and, at its best, straining to be heartfelt.
- 50VarietyPeter DebrugeVarietyPeter DebrugeRe-shot, re-cut and somehow rescued from total obscurity, Boone’s movie isn’t half bad. Alas, it’s not half good either. It’s basically just decent enough to motivate those sick of shutdown to risk getting sick for real.
- 50Original-CinLiam LaceyOriginal-CinLiam LaceyIf this were a pilot for a TV series, home audiences might be willing to baby it along until it grows stronger. As a stand-alone movie, this particular mutation looks like a badly-adapted dead-end.
- 50New York PostJohnny OleksinskiNew York PostJohnny OleksinskiDirector Josh Boone’s goal was to jettison the usual comic-book trappings and make The New Mutants a horror film. He succeeded on the first part, but not the second. Nothing is scary or heroic. Perhaps unsurprising coming from the guy who directed “The Fault in Our Stars,” it’s all teenage troubles: love, sex obsession, a tinge of self-harm.
- 40The New York TimesAmy NicholsonThe New York TimesAmy NicholsonThe New Mutants spent three years on ice before being allowed to escape into the slowest summer season in a century. That’s fitting for a film that’s all buildup and no bang.
- 40EmpireEmpireDespite a game cast, The New Mutants’ horror elements aren’t very scary and as a superhero movie it fails to truly excite. A disappointing finale to Fox’s X-Men franchise.
- 38The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzInstead of funnelling his inspirations into one singular vision that he could call his own, Boone has made a Frankenstein of a franchise movie, a giant elevator pitch that leads directly to the sub-basement of originality.