Uglies takes Netflix's No. 1 spot to defy 19% RT critic score

Promo image of Uglies from Netflix
(Image credit: Brian Douglas/Netflix)

Uglies, a new dystopian film based on a 2005 book of the same name by Scott Westerfeld, has defied a horrendous Rotten Tomatoes score to claim Netflix’s number 1 movie slot.

Critics have slammed Uglies so much that it's currently sitting on a critic score of just 19% at the time of writing. Its audience score is better, although it's still only 53%. They are the kind of numbers that make you wonder who's watching the film, but clearly lots of people are and presumably many are enjoying the story about a society that forces cosmetic surgery on its citizens so that everyone is beautiful and no one is ugly.

Uglies, whose cast includes Joey King (A Family Affair, The Kissing Booth) and Chase Stokes (Outer Banks, Stranger Things), follows a group of people who rise up against their society where beauty is the basis for everything. It is sitting in the top spot in Netflix's movie chart in both the US and the UK.

But Variety wrote: "The ending winks at a sequel (there are additional books in the Westerfeld series), but it's hard to leave Uglies with a desire for a franchise when the movie doesn't say anything all that meaningful."

The reviewer for RogerEbert commented it was "an Orwellian tale with weak conviction".

Uglies | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube Uglies | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube
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But obviously, some people are enjoying it and one viewer commented on the movie being "such a fun, action-packed, thrilling and refreshing story with such a great message". While another wrote: "Having read all the books and having a deep understanding of the story, this was a great movie".

It's yet to be clear if there will be Uglies 2. The next book in the series is called "Pretties" and Netflix will no doubt be keeping a keen eye on how Uglies performs before committing to another film.

Director McG told Deadline: "The audience needs to speak up and say we should finish the book series. Obviously, it's a series of books. The story goes on, but we need to have everybody clamor for it, because it's tough to get movies made, and it needs to be worth it, and they're expensive. We're all very optimistic that the stories will continue, and of course, that's why we signed up for this in the first place. It's a series of books, and we want to tell the full story."

Uglies is available to watch now on Netflix.

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!