At the time of writing, the new John Travolta movie Gotti has a very rare 0% rating on reviews aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. The film, which I personally have not seen, looks like it is still awaiting a UK release, but it was released Stateside just yesterday and was absolutely mauled by the critics across the pond. The Gotti reviews do not paint the film in a great light unfortunately.
Gotti reviews – New Travolta film gets 0% on Rotten Tomatoes
Gotti revolves around John Gotti, the “Teflon Don” of the Gambino Crime Family in New York City. Travolta plays the title role and is supported by the likes of Kelly Preston, Stacy Keach, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Spencer Lofranco and Victor Gojcaj.
The Hollywood Reporter said; “The film is pretty terrible: poorly written, devoid of tension, ridiculous in spots and just plain dull in others.”
Other outlets were equally as negative on the film. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun Times wrote:
“Aside from the wardrobe and the makeup, Gotti falls far short of capturing period-piece details and never immerses us in the era.”
Related: John Travolta film ‘Gotti’ to screen out of competition at Cannes
RogerEbert.com were a little more positive, particularly towards Travolta’s performance: “John Travolta is fantastic, finding just the right balance of old-school bravado and increasing insecurity in his portrayal of Bob Shapiro [in American Crime Story: The People Vs. O.J. Simpson].” However, they ended their review with “even Gotti deserved better than this.”
The New York Times said: “That the long-gestating crime drama Gotti is a dismal mess comes as no surprise. What does shock is just how multifaceted a dismal mess it is.”
Look, you get the picture. Personally, I will reserve judgement until I see it, but obviously it isn’t looking good. Gotti opens on just over 500 cinemas across the North American territory this weekend. Whether it gets a theatrical release in the UK remains to be seen, but we’ll keep you posted.
