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USA Today, TVWeek, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Is This the Worst Movie of 2018? Just-Released Film Prompts a Feeding Frenzy Among Critics

Dec 26, 2018  •  Post A Comment

A movie that hit theaters over the Christmas holiday almost immediately shot to the top of many critics’ “worst of the year” lists.

The movie is the comedy “Holmes & Watson,” a Sherlock Holmes parody starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. The same two actors joined forces in “Step Brothers” and “Talladega Nights,” both of which were better received.

USA Today notes that the movie, which was released on Christmas Day, was not made available for reviews before its release — a move that often foretells doom.

“Now that critics are watching along with the moviegoing public, their reaction isn’t great: The movie has zero percent favorable reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and just a 16 percent audience score,” USA Today reports.

There’s no shortage of scathing quotes from a wide range of critics: “Devastatingly unfunny,” says The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck. “Glad I saw #HolmesAndWatson before I finalized My 10 Worst Movies of 2018 list,” tweets critic Jackson Murphy. “#HolmesAndWatson was one epic pile of cinematic disgrace and an insult to the legacy of Sherlock Holmes,” writes critic Danielle Solzman.

Adds AV Club’s Ignatiy Vishnevetsky: “One might call it a failure on almost every level — that is, if the movie ever gave the impression that it was trying to succeed. Instead, it’s pervaded by an air of extreme laziness. It’s cheap and tacky … poisoned with rib-elbowing topical references and puerile gags.”

Here’s a look …

One Comment

  1. I look forward to not seeing this movie.

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