“Unabomber” key art featuring Russell Crowe and Jacob Tremblay.
NETFLIX
Unabomber, Netflix’s new psychological drama starring Russell Crowe and Jacob Tremblay about the early years of Ted Kaczynski, isn’t igniting Rotten Tomatoes’ critics.
Directed by Janus Metz (Andor), Unabomber premiered on Netflix on Friday. The film — which is inspired by true events — chronicles the transformation of a 16-year-old Kaczynski (Tremblay) into the Unabomber, who from 1978 to 1995 went on a path of lethal destruction that killed three people and injured 23 others.
In 1958, young Harvard prodigy Kaczynski undergoes psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray (Crowe). After Kaczynski’s troubled existence surfaces two decades later and his reign of terror as the Unabomber begins, it leads to a manhunt fronted by FBI agent Joanne Miller (Shailene Woodley).
Rated R, Unabomber also stars Annabelle Wallis, Alexander Ludwig and Steven Ogg.
As of Friday morning, Unabomber has earned a 31% “rotten” critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer based on 16 reviews. RT’s Critics Consensus, Audience Summary and Popcornmeter score based on verified user ratings are still pending.
The “rotten” critics’ score for Crowe’s Unabomber ranks among the Oscar-winning actor’s worst reviews on RT. Among Crowe’s other major films that received a “rotten” score on RT are 2024’s The Exorcism (27%), 2013’s Broken City (26%), 2006’s A Good Year (26%), 2017’s The Mummy (15%) and 2014’s Winter’s Tale (12%).
Crowe’s worst-reviewed film on RT is 2022’s Poker Face (9%). The Crowe film with the best RT critics’ score is the 1999 big tobacco drama The Insider.
Note: The RT critics’ score for “Unabomber” will be updated as more reviews are posted on the site.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘Unabomber’?
Robert Daniels of RogerEbert is among RT’s critics who give Unabomber a “rotten” score, writing, “Janus Metz Pedersen’s scuzzy Kaczynski film is a hackneyed blend of true-crime drama and banal biopic tropes.”
Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth isn’t a fan of Unabomber, either. Kojder writes in his “rotten” review summary on RT, “Half of it is a fresh approach to the Unabomber, while the other half is well-covered, bland procedural ground and feels disconnected from the origin story it’s trying to tell.”
Simon Gallager of Screen Rant also deems the film “rotten,” writing on RT, “Unabomber is an odd movie that is both fragmented and, frankly, feels a bit problematic.”
William Bibbiani of The Wrap simply notes in his “rotten” review summary on RT, “‘Unabomber’ is a dud.”
Meanwhile, Nick Schager of The Daily Beast is among the critics on RT who give Unabomber a “fresh” score, writing that the film is “a straightforward history lesson elevated by sturdy craftsmanship.”
Chris Evangelista of Slashfilm also awards Unabomber a “fresh: score. Evangelista writes in his RT review summary, “Unabomber is by no means a prestige picture, but it’s sturdy enough to get by on the strength of its performances.”
Unabomber is streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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