What the critics say

Lionsgateof No Man’s Land It will be released on August 9, but the review embargo on the film was lifted on Thursday, and early reactions from critics have been terrible.

The live-action adaptation of Gearbox Software’s hit video game series, Eli RothSet on the planet Pandora, the film follows a group of outlaws and stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt and Jamie Lee Curtis, with Jack Black voicing a wisecracking robot.

As of Thursday evening, review aggregation site No Man’s LandOn Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of just 6% based on 45 reviews. Fortunately, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is significantly higher, currently at 51%. On Metacritic, the critics score is 29 based on 23 reviews, and the situation on Letterboxd is not much better, with users giving it a 51% rating. No Man’s Land Score 2.1/5.

Here are key excerpts from some of the most notable early reviews.

In his negative comments The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney writes, “The greatest mystery ( No Man’s Land) is such a lackluster film that it attracted such a diverse cast. David focuses on the problems with the film, highlighting the significant changes that took place during production. “It’s fair to say that the project that Blanchett and other big-name stars signed on to might look a little different because it went through multiple screenwriters’ hands. The most notable of these was Craig Mazin, who wrote and directed The Last Jedi: The Last Jedi. The Last of UsHe reportedly chose to remove his name from the project. The screenplay was ultimately credited to Ross and first-time actor Joe Crombie, with some speculating that the latter was a pseudonym.

In zero-star reviews New York Postwrites Johnny Oleksinski No Man’s Land For an actor of Cate Blanchett’s caliber, this was a serious misstep. “If I were a two-time Oscar winner, I would hire a crack team to work around the clock to remove all mention of this movie from the internet. It is so embarrassing,” Oleksinski wrote. The critic was not moved, writing, “Everything about this movie is… No Man’s Land Astounding: the acting, the writing, the directing, the design.”

Jack Kleiman, writing inversealso severely criticized No Man’s Land“The motivations are unimportant, the characters are thin, and the plot moves at the speed of a gamer quickly clicking through dialogue to advance to the next level,” Kleiman wrote. He added, “On the other hand, it’s impossible not to have Cate Blanchett star in an action epic that’s at least mildly interesting; in an age of CGI slop, No Man’s Land Bonus points for creating a vibrant post-apocalyptic backdrop. Sadly, it all adds up Guardians of the Galaxy Worse jokes. ”

In his comments The Daily Beastan exasperated Nick Shagel wrote in his article: “Cate Blanchett, what are you doing?” After a string of excellent video game adaptations, Shagel is sure that the streak will end with No Man’s Land“Gearbox Software’s games were simple plots and heavy action, and Roth doubles down on that formula with drab results,” Schager wrote. “It lacks the emotional depth, narrative ingenuity, and wry humor of James Gunn’s beloved () .Guardians of the Galaxy), Ross’s big-budget venture is fueled solely by borrowed ideas and stale execution, both of which cause it to fail spectacularly.”

writing The New York TimesAmy Nicholson begins her review by saying No Man’s Landsuggesting that much of the film’s messiness was down to production issues. Nicholson avoided an outright critique of the film, but was still disappointed. “You can see the laughs, but most of them don’t land. There are some clever contrivances if you look closely, though,” Nicholson wrote, adding that Blanchett was one of the few bright spots: “The two-time Oscar winner endures the nonsense like a warrior on a cheesy propaganda poster.”

It can be said that this is a mixed review. empireDan Jolin Wrote the film with Guardians of the Galaxybut does capture “some” of the magic of the MCU trilogy. Overall, however, the script doesn’t work. “Ross and co-writer Joe Crombie have neither Gunn’s wit nor his wisdom. The one-liners are stale (“I’m naturally funny, so I’ll take it as a witty joke,” chirps an annoyingly rude robot voiced by Jack Black), the range of emotional resonance feels narrow (Blanchett’s Lilith has mommy issues, you know), and the group dynamics are off balance.”

In another mixed review, ColliderTaylor Gates Felt No Man’s Land There are some positives, including performances from Ariana Greenblatt, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis, but ultimately the film is dragged down by its flaws.”No Man’s Land “It’s essentially an action-adventure film, and there’s no doubt that it does that well. The action sequences — especially the hand-to-hand combat and the more acrobatic fights — are fantastic,” Gates wrote. “The film’s pacing is also terrible. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great for a movie to stay under two hours — most movies these days don’t seem to be able to do that — but the speed with which the plot threads are resolved feels rushed rather than efficient, and the breakneck pace sacrifices clarity and much-needed tension and stakes.”