Smurf movie reviews: New film starring Rihanna slammed as 'waste of time'

The new Smurf movie starring Rihanna and James Corden has divided critics as one even called the film a "Smurf-tacular heap of Smurf". There was huge excitement for the musical comedy animated movie due to its ensemble cast, which included Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, Jimmy Kimmel, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Kurt Russell and John Goodman.

Smurf follows Smurfette (played by RiRi), leading the Smurfs on a mission into the real world to save Papa Smurf after he was mysteriously taken by evil wizards Gargamel and his brother Razamel. The movie only just came out but is already being bombarded by negative reviews from critics and fans alike.

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One disappointed critic wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Smurfs is a Smurfing waste of time that falls just short of being a Smurf-tacular heap of Smurf due to some colourful visuals.

"Beyond this, nothing about this story is even remotely interesting because of how recycled it all feels.

"I even hesitate calling this a kid’s movie because it could possibly derail the cognitive skills they’ve been developing."

They went on to call the script 'lazy' and the performances 'bland'. One critic for IGN said the movie could easily occupy kids for a time, but the jokes could also make them restless.

It was written: "There are enough colours and sparkles to keep kids occupied for a time, though it’s just as easy to see them getting restless (as was the case at my press screening) when Smurfs begins repeating itself and relying too heavily on laughs from the grown-ups in the room."

Another reviewer also praised the visuals before criticising the actual storyline. Writing for The Guardian, the critic wrote: "This very uninteresting and uninspired story plods along for an hour and a half, though there are some almost-interesting surreal scenes when our heroes find themselves in weird alt-universe dimensions."

One critic shared their confusion on why the Smurfs ended up in real-life Paris, where they were seen running past Parisians' feet without ever interacting with a human.

"And no one seems at all concerned by the presence of tiny, blue elves at the discothèque, which renders every single live-action sequence pointless, while implying that the local drug supply is very, very good," they said for The Independent.

Some enjoyed the kids' movie, as one called it "a light-hearted and entertaining movie for longtime fans.

"While many big names are credited, they don’t have a significant impact on the film itself," the critic wrote on Nerdtropolis.

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