Chef drama lands in Netflix top 10 - despite the fact everyone absolutely hates it
A cooking drama critics have called ‘a mess disguised as a feel-good film’ is creeping up the Netflix Top Ten despite its abysmal Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Back in 2015, actor Bradley Cooper stepped out as two-Michelin-starred chef Adam Jones, a culinary king initially employed at a high-class Parisian restaurant.
However, due to his drug use and fiery personality, Jones is asked to exit the premier establishment. After a layover for oysters in New Orleans, he heads to The Langham Hotel in London to begin his quest for an elusive third Michelin star.
While avoiding paying his drug debts, the cook opens his own restaurant and hires mother-of-one Helene Sweeney (played by Sienna Miller), who eventually becomes his love interest.
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The film, directed by John Wells, also stars Kill Bill’s Uma Thurman, Dame Emma Thompson, and Downton Abbeyfavourite Lily James, as well as Marvel’s Daniel Brül and Jurassic World Dominion actor Omar Sy.
Despite its ensemble cast, Burnt, released by The Weinstein Company more than a decade ago, failed to light up the box office, raking in just $36.6 million against a $20 million budget.
Watch the trailer below:
Reviews aren’t too favourable either, with one critic claiming: “Burnt has a talented cast, and the ham-fisted script doesn't do them any favours.”
Another typed: “With watered down performances and underdeveloped storylines, ‘Burnt’ needs a bit more seasoning, more time to rise and better ingredients to give us the melt-in-your-mouth film.”
A third added: “Burnt may be awash in enough images of gastronomic delight to satisfy any foodie, but dramatically it's as familiar and predictable as macaroni and cheese.”
Someone else reported: “Burnt is a mess disguised as a feel-good film, and not a very good one at that. Cooper's character is not someone you can root for and even the romance between he and Sienna Miller isn't genuine.”
On Letterboxd, Burnt has a solid 3.1-average star rating. However, Rotten Tomatoes users have not been as kind.
It has an average 45 percent rating on the Popcornmeter and a 29 percent approval rate on the critic-based Tomatometer.
Despite the initial negativity, the flick was added to Netflix in late April and has slid into the Top Ten film list.
And it appears Burnt has some die-hard fans, with one typing: “If you like shows like House M.D. or Elementary... Ignore the reviewers. You'll love this movie. I've been obsessed with it for years now. If spoilers weren't an issue I'd tell the lot of you exactly why. It's a good movie and a good story.”
A second wrote: “The negative reviews of this film confound me. Having worked with 3-star Michelin chefs/kitchens I can attest to the veracity of their representation herein; the culinary mastery of this picture stands alone as a true winner.”
Now you can determine for yourself whether Burnt is hot or a flop by streaming it on Netflix.
If Burnt isn’t exactly your thing, then perhaps you’ll be more excited to hear that a prequel episode of The Bear was recently released on FX on Hulu.
The instalment, titled ‘Gary’ stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, who play Richie Jerimovich and the late Mikey Berzatto, respectively.
According to an official synopsis, the flashback episode highlights the pair’s ‘complicated relationship’ while ‘uncovering new layers of Mikey’s mental state’.
It also offers ‘crucial insight into the man Richie is when audiences first meet him in Season 1 — adding emotional context that reframes their story from the very beginning’.
Topics: TV and Film, News
Ella Scott