After years of delays The New Mutants is finally arriving in cinemas, but why is this latest (and final, from Fox at least) X-Men installment getting such terrible reviews? Originally filmed in 2017, The New Mutants was set to be the latest in a long line of X-Men installments from Fox. However, The New Mutants went through endless rescheduling when the film's production company was acquired by Disney, with five different release dates being attached to the movie at different stages.

Starring Emma's Anya-Taylor Joy, Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams, and Stranger Things' Charlie Heaton, The New Mutants follows five, well, mutants whose worst long-hidden memories become nightmarish realities as they undergo some shadowy form of therapy/testing in a mysterious institution. It's a promising premise which aimed to offer a more horror-oriented spin on the superhero genre and looked to benefit from a game, impressive young cast. Like a lot of outlets, Screen Rant chose against reviewing the film upon release. The studio's decision to opt for a cinema release over VOD may prove the wrong call, but even the few critics who did see The New Mutants told potential viewers to save their money. So why are the film's reviews so negative?

Related: How New Mutants Connects To X-Men Apocalypse and Logan

Currently, New Mutants has just a 32& critics score on Rotten Tomatoes from 60 reviews, with a slightly better 53% audience rating. Most of the movie's negative reviews focus on its tortured production process, with critics claiming The New Mutants suffers due to these re-cuts, reshoots, and delays. One detail that most of The New Mutants' negative reviews appear to agree on is that the film fails to find a fitting tone and stick to it. According to director Josh Boone of The Fault In Our Stars fame, early scripts included the villain Warlock but removed the character, as his presence would have proved too expensive. But ironically, most of the movie's bad reviews argue that The New Mutants needed just that sort of larger-scale ambition in its vision. Many of the reviews cite the movie's many delays as a cause of unfair hype, claiming The New Mutants is perfectly fine, but not worth the wait. There's a good chance that the movie's many delays led critics to expect something more expansive than a claustrophobic psychological thriller. Here's what critics had to say:

Variety:

Re-shot, re-cut, and somehow rescued from total obscurity, Boone's movie isn't half bad. Alas, it's not half good either.

The Hollywood Reporter:

The movie isn't even as scary as it could be, a fact that could be explained by the need to maintain a PG-13 rating, but in the end we're only reminded of recent teen horror ensembles like It that worked much better.

The New York Times:

The New Mutants spent three years on ice before being allowed to escape into the slowest summer season in a century. That's fitting for a film that's all buildup and no bang.

Vanity Fair:

The movie that's made its way to theatres is mildly engaging but mostly inert, a wan sizzle reel for an idea rather than the idea made manifest.

Empire:

Despite a game cast, The New Mutants horror elements aren't very scary and as a superhero movie it fails to truly excite. A disappointing finale to Fox's X-Men franchise.

It's hard to imagine much of a future for the franchise, as Marvel would struggle to retcon the characters into the MCU. Which is a shame, as most of even The New Mutants' worst reviews cite the film's performances as a strong suit. Anya Taylor-Joy in particular is frequently singled out for praise, with many critics saying the young actor brought a sense of humor and camp to her role as Ilyana Rasputin. But while Taylor-Joy was the standout performer, her co-star Maisie Williams was also mentioned positively in numerous reviews.

Fortunately for the film's young stars, their performances, and the film's same-sex romance plot did garner praise amongst all the critical hate. But with many amongst the cast being commended for making the most of the material, it's unfortunate that critics felt the film didn't do their work justice. The tepid reception of Boone's film has prompted fans to wonder whether New Mutants 2 will ever happen, and leading critics to question if it ever should.

Next: Will New Mutants 2 Ever Happen?