Netflix is ​​often the king of dropping random movies full of big-name actors with little fanfare, and that’s exactly what happened with Lonely Planet, a new movie starring upcoming Witcher Liam Hemsworth and Laura Dern.

So you might be wondering if it’s really worth watching, but it looks like the answer is probably no. No, that’s probably not the case, at least according to critics, and lord knows Netflix won’t give you any indication of that, outside of the “% recommendation” system that means nothing.

Lonely Planet currently sits at 36% on Rotten Tomatoes with several dozen reviews from critics. That’s definitely the lowest score for a Netflix original since the 15% Uglies a few weeks ago. There’s no audience score for the film yet, but we can go to IMDB where Lonely Planet currently has a less than stellar 6/10. This was written and directed by Susannah Grant, who wrote Erin Brockovich in 2000, and a number of other films since. I really enjoyed her 2019 project Unbelievable, which she co-wrote with Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman. Here’s Lonely Planet’s summary:

“A reclusive novelist arrives at a prestigious writers’ retreat in Morocco, hoping that the remote environment will relieve her writer’s block. While there, she meets a young man – what starts as an acquaintance evolves into an intoxicating, life-changing love affair.

So the idea here is that a young man falls in love with an older woman, and in this case Hemsworth is 34 and Laura Dern is 57. A gap, but certainly not exactly scandalous. But critics aren’t concerned. Here’s an example:

• The Hollywood Reporter: “It’s neither boring enough to be painful nor fun enough to be compelling, it’s just too bland to make much of an impact at all.”
• The New York Times: “The story is not that popular. At least the leads are. That’s not enough to make Lonely Planet a good movie, but it might be enough to get through all 94 minutes without clicking anything else. Maybe.”

And since one in three reviews is positive, here’s one:

• Guardian: “It’s better, more grounded and more self-aware than expected, enough to overcome the clichés and sometimes clumsy dialogue. It is especially a pleasant addition to the welcome subgenre about over-40s, in which women are considered sought-after subjects.”

It’s certainly possible that you’ll enjoy it, but overall the consensus is that Lonely Planet isn’t great, and a far cry from other top-rated Netflix originals that have come out lately, including Rebel Ridge. Different genres of course. So form your own opinion.

Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, And Instagram.

Pick up my science fiction novels Herokiller series And The Earthborn Trilogy.