Netflix’s ‘Unabomber’ Flops With Critics Despite Star-Studded Cast

Netflix's new film "Unabomber," starring Russell Crowe, Jacob Tremblay, and Shailene Woodley, has received a disastrous 23% critics' score and a 30% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, marking the third consecutive poorly-reviewed suspense-based Netflix original. The film, which follows Ted Kaczynski's transformation from a 16-year-old Harvard prodigy into the infamous Unabomber, including controversial psychological experiments by Professor Henry Murray, has been panned by critics for lacking suspense and sophistication. Despite the poor reviews, it has rocketed to No. 1 on Netflix, surpassing higher-scored titles like "Top Gun: Maverick." This pattern mirrors previous Netflix originals "The Whisper Man" (46%) and "The Last House" (22%), which also topped the service despite negative reviews. Critics have compared the film unfavorably to superhero origin stories, questioning its necessity, while the 97-minute runtime is seen as a saving grace compared to a longer miniseries format.