The life of Chuck debuted on Rotten Tomatoes, and is the best Stephen King adaptation score since 2017. Directed by Mike Flanagan, who is best known for projects like The Haunting of Hill House (2018), Doctor Sleep (2019), and Midnight mass (2021), The life of Chuck is based on King’s novella of the same featured in his If it bleeds Collection of 2020. The upcoming film stars Tom Hiddleston as Charles Krantz with a story that chronicles three distinct chapters in the character’s life.
After its premiere at TIFF, The life of Chuck Has now debuted on Rotten tomatoes With a score of 85% with 20 reviews. The score is sure to fluctuate as more reviews are added, but this currently makes it the highest scoring King adaptation since 1922 (2017), which sports an impressive 92% score. Check out the chart below to see how The life of Chuck Stacks vs. other recent adaptations of King’s work:
|
Stephen King Adaptation Rotten Tomatoes Scores (2017 – 2024) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Title |
Year |
Rotten Tomatoes critics score |
|
The Dark Tower |
2017 |
15% |
|
it |
2017 |
85% |
|
Play Gerald’s game |
2017 |
91% |
|
1922 |
2017 |
92% |
|
Pet Sematary |
2019 |
57% |
|
In the tall grass |
2019 |
36% |
|
Doctor Sleep |
2019 |
78% |
|
Children of the Corn |
2020 |
12% |
|
Firestarter |
2022 |
11% |
|
Mr. Harrigan’s phone |
2022 |
45% |
|
The boogeyman |
2023 |
61% |
|
The life of Chuck |
2024 |
85% |
What the life of Chuck’s Rotten Tomatoes score means for the film
How it compares to Flanagan’s past King adaptations
Flanagan has a very strong hit rate when it comes to positive critical consensus, and The life of Chuck Certainly looks to continue the trend. As of writing, the film’s 85% score places the project between Flanagan’s two other King feature film adaptations. Play Gerald’s game Currently leading with an impressive 91%, While Doctor Sleep takes third place with its still-respectable score of 78%.
Reviews for The life of Chuck So far the film has been hailed as a more upbeat and life-affirming entry in Flanagan’s filmography (and King’s own body of work), but it’s a change in tone and direction that seems to work. Hiddleston’s lead performance is singled out as a highlightAnd the film’s ensemble cast as a whole, which includes Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan, Matthew Lillard, Mia Sara, David Dastmalchian, Kate Sigel and Jacob Tremblay, is one of the film’s strengths. What is unclear is whether the positive critical consensus will help the film at the box office.
Our take on the life of Chuck’s Rotten Tomatoes score
The film is an outlier for Flanagan and King
The life of Chuck It doesn’t have a distributor yet, but that could change in the near future now that it’s premiering at TIFF. As seen in the chart above, not all King adaptations turn out well, and It will be refreshing to see one of the author’s lighter works find success. Flanagan, too, announced himself as one of the first voices in horror in the last few years, but stripping away the scares seems to have resulted in a moving experience.
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Reception of the audience will be the key to The life of Chucks success, especially if it ends with theatrical distribution. It is worth noting, however, that Doctor Sleep Ended up disappointing at the box office even with an 89% audience score. It remains to be seen how The life of Chuck Will charge, but the early response to rotten tomatoes is a positive sign.
Source: Rotten tomatoes