Amazon’s Sci-Fi Remake Earns 2025’s Lowest Film Score

As 2025 draws to a close, the annual tradition of ranking the year’s cinematic highs and lows is in full swing. This time, a modern retelling of a science fiction story first published 127 years ago has found itself at the very bottom of the pile. Amazon’s latest adaptation, released on Prime Video, has not only failed to impress but has also managed to secure the dubious honour of being the lowest-rated film of the year on Metacritic.

Critical Reception and Metacritic’s Scoring

Metacritic, much like its counterpart Rotten Tomatoes, aggregates reviews from professional critics and assigns each film a weighted score out of 100. This system is designed to offer a broad sense of critical consensus, balancing outliers and highlighting general trends in reception. For Amazon’s ambitious remake, the outcome has been nothing short of disastrous. The film’s score stands at a mere six out of 100—a figure so low it almost defies belief.

Such a result is rare, even among the most panned releases. The score reflects a near-universal lack of enthusiasm from critics, who have found little to praise in the production. The film’s attempt to modernise a beloved classic appears to have backfired, with reviewers citing issues ranging from uninspired direction to a lack of originality.

Other Notable Lowlights of the Year

It’s not just Amazon’s science fiction effort that has drawn the ire of critics. Alan Ritchson, known for his role in ‘Reacher’, also stars in an action film that has been singled out as one of the year’s worst. While not quite matching the record-breaking low of Amazon’s remake, Ritchson’s latest project has nonetheless been met with widespread disappointment.

Both films have become talking points for all the wrong reasons, dominating discussions about the year’s most underwhelming releases. Audiences and critics alike have expressed frustration at the lack of innovation and the reliance on tired formulas, suggesting that even star power and big budgets are no guarantee of success.

The Challenge of Remaking Classics

Adapting a well-known story for a contemporary audience is always a risky endeavour. The original work’s legacy can be both a blessing and a curse, setting expectations that are difficult to meet. In this case, the attempt to reimagine a time-honoured narrative has resulted in a film that, according to critics, fails to capture the spirit or excitement of its source material.

With such a low score on Metacritic, Amazon’s remake has set a new benchmark for critical disappointment in 2025. Whether this will prompt studios to rethink their approach to classic adaptations remains to be seen, but for now, the film stands as a cautionary tale for those tempted to revisit the past without a fresh perspective.