Netflix has a long history of turning popular YA fantasy and sci-fi book series into TV shows and movies, but the streamer’s hit rate is not great. While there have been plenty of success stories, Netflix’s adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s dystopian sci-fi novel Uglies is not one of them, as the movie has a putrid 19% on Rotten Tomatoes and 4.9/10 on IMDb.
“In a futuristic world that imposes a cosmetic surgery at 16, Tally is eager for her turn to join the rest of society,” reads Netflix’s synopsis of the film. “But when a friend runs away, Tally embarks on a journey to save her that upends everything she thought she wanted.”
The Guardian called Uglies “another throwaway product,” IndieWire noted “the message of non-conformity feels stale,” and Variety said that “director McG’s unexciting franchise-starter doesn’t say anything all that meaningful about inner beauty and warped beauty standards.”
Nevertheless, Uglies did climb to the peak of the Netflix top 10 movies chart after premiering on September 13. Whether or not it has legs remains to be seen, but it’s no big surprise that such a popular IP attracted a wide audience at launch.
There have been eight books in the series so far, but it’s not clear if we’ll see any further movies after the generally negative reaction to Uglies. The bad reviews aren’t limited to critics, either, as fans on social media have been dragging the adaptation as well:
While there were some positive reactions, most fans seem to just want the story to continue so that they can see the story they love brought to life in full. Barring a sustained surge in viewership, that’s going to be tough for such a critical bomb.
