'The Book of Henry' Reviews: Negative Critical Reception Casts Doubt on Trevorrow Helming 'Star Wars Episode 9'

By Amee Florence Payno, Christian Post Contributor Friday, June 16, 2017

The new movie of "Star Wars Episode 9" director Colin Trevorrow titled "The Book of Henry" is getting negative review from critics.

The film marks Trevorrow's comeback in making movies with a smaller budget after the massive success of the blockbuster hit "Jurassic World." "The Book of Henry" stars Naomi Watts in the role of a single mother who is raising a genius 11-year-old son named Henry (Jaeden Lieberher).

In the film, Henry befriends his neighbor next door, a young girl whose stepfather (Dean Norris) the young boy becomes very suspicious of. Believing there's a mystery surrounding the man, he teams up with his mother and his little brother to uncover it for themselves.

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While the movie's synopsis has the ability to capture the attention of its potential audience, the first reviews of those who watched the complete version of the film have generally indicated that Trevorrow's latest offering just isn't good enough to warrant praise. Some have even raised concerns of whether the director is worthy of helming "Star Wars: Episode 9."

A review from The Hollywood Reporter reads:

"Those of us who've allowed ourselves to care about the latest Star Wars trilogy may be made fearful about the prospect of an Episode IX directed by Trevorrow. The garden-variety blockbuster lameness of his Jurassic World was one thing; after this near-catastrophe, can he really be trusted with the fate of the Jedi?"

The Guardian referred to "The Book of Henry" as an "insidiously terrible film" and criticized the movie's inability to be chilling and skin-crawling as it intended to be. Collider, on the other hand, thought the movie was "blending Capri Sun with absinthe," and called it "a dehumanizing mess."

Empire, however, has given the film a more positive review, rating it with three stars. A portion of the media outlet's written review reads:

"As he proved with Jurassic World, Trevorrow is adept at dealing with young actors. Tremblay is cute as a button, yet top of the class is Lieberher, previously seen opposite Bill Murray in St Vincent who absolutely convinces as a young Brainiac, but never to a point that it's alienating."

"The Book of Henry" hits U.S. theaters on Friday, June 16.