‘Mute’ Review Round-Up: A ‘Blade Runner’ Wannabe With Nothing To Say
In 2009,MoonputDuncan Joneson the map as one of the most intriguing and promising new directors working today. His debut gave Jones the opportunity to direct the modestly received, star-studdedSourceCode and the poorly received, big-budgetWarcraft. But most importantly, it paved the way for a passion project 16 years in the making. And thanks to Netflix, Jones finally was able to bring that passion project to life. But was it worth the wait?
Probably not, according to the early reviews ofMute, Jones' glossy cyberpunk science-fiction film starringAlexander Skarsgardas a mute bartender waging war against future city gangsters.
See what critics have to say aboutMute.
/Film’s own reviewofMuteby Chris Evangelista expressed hope thatMutewould “rekindle his cinematic magic” that he first showed so brilliantly inMoon, but the Netflix film ended up being a major disappointment:
Variety’s Peter DeBruge admits thatMuteis “undeniably dazzling in the visual department” but is ultimately a “gimmicky” noir with nothing interesting to say:
IGN’s David Griffin praised Paul Rudd and Justin Theroux’s performances, but not much else:
Sheri Linden withThe Hollywood Reportersays thatMute"feels like a hyperactive pop culture pastiche," relying on homages toBlade Runnerand other great sci-fi:
The feature, which is receiving a limited theatrical platform as it begins streaming, is richly imagined and well played by a cast of movie stars and intriguing new faces. But the handsomely downbeat atmospherics overwhelm its themes of love, parenthood, crime and punishment. The narrative doesn’t quite coalesce, and except for a few late-in-the-proceedings moments, it doesn’t deliver the grim, indelible shivers of the best noir.
Charles Bramesco atThe Guardiansaid that Netflix and Jones' collaboration was yet another strike against the streaming service:
The problem is that Jones couldn’t hold up his end of the bargain and deliver work that rates even as “interesting”, the last salvation of flagrantly terrible movies. (How his post-digital Berlin could simultaneously look so expensive and so cheap may be a Zen riddle.) Instead, most disappointingly of all, the volleys of overindulgent inertia mount a convincing argument against the very class of release in sadly short supply at present. Watching Jones passively bob in the deep end of his imagination, a viewer longs for the compulsory baseline competence of the big studios – anything but the blandness masquerading as future cult bait.
The Playlist’s Andrew Crump callsMute"aBlade Runnerwannabe" that “lacks mystery and depth”:
Michael Rougeau atGameSpotcallsMutea “plodding, meandering” movie along with a litany of equally derisive adjectives:
From Netflix and Duncan Jones,Mutepromised to be a return to form for the director and writer behind the instant classic 2009 mind-benderMoon(and, more recently, the less-than-classicWarcraft). Unfortunately,Muteis a cartoonish, nonsensical, tone-deaf, derivative, outrageously awful nightmare without a single redeeming quality. Bummer, right?
Den of Geek’s Ryan Lambie saysMuteis a “left-field, downbeat thriller”:
After the humanistic, deeply movingMoonand the taut thrills of Jones' second film,Source Code,Mutecomes as something of a surprise. Not just because of the grotesque proclivities of its characters, but also because its pacing feels so slack. Nevertheless, Jones is a talented director, and there are moments when the brilliance ofMoonshines through: the opening shot has an eerie, dreamlike quality; his more intimate moments with Leo showcase his ability to impart a sense of character with lighting and cinematography rather than words. Clint Mansell’s low-key, murmuring score also matches the story’s increasingly dour mood.
The Wrap’s Robert Abele callsMutea “dull, empty exercise in crime, grime and slime,” adding:
Film School Rejects' Rob Hunter praisedMute’s visual style and tone, saying that Jones “succeeds better than most in dropping both characters and audiences into a believable and fully-functioning world.” Hunter had the most positive review, adding:
