The first reviews of the new Tom Hanks movie are in, and critics agree that the Forrest Gump reunion movie isn’t great

Critics’ reviews of Tom Hanks’ new film, HereThey arrived, but they are not that good. Based on the 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire, Here tells the story of several generations of couples and families who lived in the same house for centuries. Flower Moon Assassins screenwriter Eric Roth co-wrote the film with Oscar-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, who also produced and directed the film. Here stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in the lead roles, reuniting on screen for the first time since co-starring in Zemeckis’ 1994 film Forest Gumpalong with Paul Bettany and Kelly Reilly.

The first reviews for Here are inside, and Critics are generally unimpressed by the Forest Gump meeting. The Daily Beast called the Robert Zemeckis film”a shame.” IndieWire echoes the same sentiment, criticizing the director for wasting “an aged Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.” IGN points out that the film lacks “some of the things that make it a film,” while The Hollywood Reporter accuses him of boxing in his main stars. UPI expresses that the film “lacks heart.“

Why are the reviews here so bad

Critics say technology overshadows characters and narrative

The Daily Beast supported his argument by explaining that the film did not take advantage of his unique concept that “seems designed to investigate“don’t even play with”the tension between what is inside and outside its frame.” Instead, the director is “more concerned with portraying the totality of modern life in a single framework.” Variety explained that while “There are deep thoughts to be found in these rabbit holes” and while Here “approximately“points in”right direction“, he is distracted by “a handful of much more superficial threads“, namely the “disappointed the generic life of four families.“

At a technical level, Deadline praised the director’s effort to mix “the newest cinema technologies” with “relatable stories” but instead of sending”its cast of characters from over a century back in time“, the director”let time come to them on a single piece of land.” The review further argued that when placing the camera “in a stable position“to capture the lives of the characters, Here would have made a “great theater piece with the opportunity for dazzling changes of scenery.” However, the film took time “the cinematographic journey” instead, which countered his effort.

Here continues a dismal critical streak for Robert Zemeckis

He’s had a string of Rotten Tomatoes flops

At the time of writing this article, 12 reviews have been aggregated to Here on Rotten Tomatoes, earning a firmly rotten score of 25%. While it will almost certainly fluctuate as more reviews are added, it is low enough to likely remain rotten. This continues a dismal critical track record for Robert Zemeckis’ recent films, such as he hasn’t received a Fresh score for one of his directorial efforts since 2016 with his Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard war film Allywhich narrowly surpassed the Fresh threshold with a score of 60%. Below, see how his subsequent films fared:

If its score remains unchanged, Tom Hanks’ new film will be cemented as the worst score in this poorly reviewed series for Zemeckis. It will also be the worst soundtrack of any film he ever directedalthough he received lower scores on projects he produced or executive produced, including Thirteen Ghosts (19%), Ghost Ship (15%), Gothic (15%), Tales From the Crypt features blood brothel (14%), The harvest (8%), and 2001 Ritual (0%). Zemeckis also developed the story for Brothel of Blood with his frequent collaborator Bob Gale.

This negative reception for Here and from an article about how Zemeckis’ technological experiments have reached critics in recent years. Although he became known as a special effects innovator with well-reviewed classics including 1984 Back to the future (93%), 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (96%) and even Forest Gump (76%), all certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, its experiments with modern CGI have become increasingly alienating to critics. This started in 2004 The Polar Express (56%), but quickly spread with titles including A Christmas song (52%), Welcome to Marwenand the live-action remake of Pinocchio.

Our opinion on the reviews here

It’s a bold experiment with flaws

Given the way it is presented in the Here trailer, the new film presents a very ambitious premise. The “treehouse” idea of ​​planting the camera in the center of a single house is very intriguing, which also means that expectations for this experiment may be very high. What critics generally agree on is that the film’s focus is on the technology that brings it to the screen rather than its main characters, which seems to have distracted the film from telling a humanly relatable and emotionally impactful story.

Here It’s a bold experience from the director and first-rate actors, but it doesn’t come close to Forest Gumpapproach to time. The film seems to have lost its way when playing with new technologies and experimental methods of film production. It makes sense for a filmmaker known for pushing boundaries to focus on innovation and changing the way stories are told. Unfortunately, it appears that Here it’s not perfect.

There are things to learn from experience, but without filmmakers like Zemeckis, curious and restless to try, there will be no progress. Here It’s a necessary experimenteven though it may seem like a failure in many ways.

Source: Various (see above)