We're not even a full month into the new year, but already it looks like the first worst movie of the year has emerged.
The US reviews for 'Dolittle' have landed online, and by and large, it's being universally panned in a way that Robert Downey Jr. hasn't seen in years. 'Dolittle' opens in the US tomorrow with a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 30% score on Metacritic. Dig a little deeper, however, and the reviews are even more dire.
Vulture's review describe it as "anti-cinema" and "somehow both frantic and lifeless". The review also mentions the last-minute reshoots, which are as ever, never a good sign. The Associated Press review wasn't much better, decrying the "increasingly weak jokes, which culminate in a scene revolving around a dragon’s flatulence." The AV Club's review wasn't much better, and hit the humour hard, saying that it "reeks of after-the-fact punch-up prompted by negative test-audience feedback" and comes with "a confused, sweaty, zigzag approach to storytelling, which waves away inconvenient details and waves in lame jokes with an equal sense of desperation."
It all gets worse, however, when you learn that 'Dolittle' apparently had a whopping $175 million production budget and who knows what else for marketing. On top of that, this is Robert Downey Jr's first major movie in the wake of his exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Does this spell a rocky future for his career, then? Probably not, but nevertheless, this is a bad look right out of the gate.
'Dolittle' arrives in Irish cinemas on February 7th.
