Release: Metroid

 

Metroid

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Writer: Dawson Edwards

Based on the video game series

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Gary Oldman (VOICE), Michelle Williams (VOICE), Sterling K. Brown (VOICE), Patrick Dempsey, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Violet McGraw, Rose Byrne, David Tennant (VOICE)

Budget: $152,000,000

Domestic Box Office: $99,385,104

Foreign Box Office: $251,198,888

Total Profit: $99,216,094

Reaction: It's always nice to start the season off with a hit, especially given how the last two seasons kicked off - with flops. The news is especially good for rookie writer Dawson Edwards, who has already mapped out future entries in the Metroid franchise.

"Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Metroid is a bold, harrowing reimagining of the iconic video game series. The film’s melancholic mood, supported by Dawson Edwards’ beautifully sparse script and Gary Oldman’s poignant turn as Old Bird, elevates Metroid into a rare kind of video game adaptation: one that treats its protagonist not as an avatar, but as a human being. Bleak, brutal, and often stunning, Metroid is a triumph of atmosphere and character, though some viewers may find its relentlessly somber tone overwhelming." - Samuel Hart, The Hollywood Ledger

"An incredibly cinematic yet intimate epic, Metroid dives deep into Samus’s trauma, isolation, and inner conflict, elevating it beyond the typical sci-fi action flick. Dawson Edwards and Cary Joji Fukunaga take us on an action-packed emotional roller coaster, with cinematography that makes us feel every bump, blast, and breath along the way. That said, I couldn't seem to find any Metroids in this Metroid movie, maybe they'll show up in what I'm already considering a most-wanted sequel." - Dexter Quinn, Cinema Observer Newsletter

"Metroid is an ambitious adaptation that ultimately buckles under the weight of its own seriousness. While Jennifer Lawrence delivers a committed performance as Samus Aran, the film's plodding pace and overly grim tone drain much of the excitement from the source material. Limited screen time makes the supporting roles and villains feel very one-dimensional, hurting the impact of Samus's journey." - Cal Crowe, Washington Globe

Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence and thematic material