Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: TuneIn |
Robert Pattinson continues his career-defining 2026 run as To Catch a Predator‘s Chris Hansen in Primetime, from director Noah Oppenheim. Is there more to this stylish thriller than big performances?
In this The Cinematic Schematic mini-review, Caleb Masters takes a closer look at Oppenheim’s especially slick narrative feature debut.
Primetime opens in theaters on Friday, September 25th.
Listen for his verdict, or read the short review summary below.
Primetime Tip-Toes Up to Greatness Before Falling Just Short
Robert Pattinson is at his mesmerizing peak in this darkly funny, haunting roast of “gotcha” reality TV.
Director Lance Oppenheim’s stylish debut narrative feature is a striking showcase of his talents, but Ajon Singh’s script feels like it pulls punches. It never digs quite deep enough to say anything revelatory. It’s not that what’s on the screen is uninteresting—it just felt like the most compelling ideas about predatory fame were already obvious. It should have gone one step farther. This is especially disappointing when you consider the 2025 documentary Predators from director David Osit, which explored the same ideas with an emotionally devastating effect.
Still, the performances are undeniably memorable, and it strikes an alluring balance between “feel-bad movie” and crowdpleaser, making it a highly entertaining watch. I just wish it had more teeth.
See Primetime in theaters with a crowd, and check out the aforementioned documentary and supplementary viewing.
Grade: B
About Primetime
IMDB describes Primetime as:
In 2006, To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen sets out to make television history.
Follow The Cinematic Schematic Podcast
Hear all this and more of our past and future episodes by subscribing to The Cinematic Schematic on your preferred podcast app and leaving us a rating on Apple Podcasts!
Email Us: thecinematropolis@gmail.com
Follow The Cinematropolis on YouTube
Follow The Cinematic Schematic on Spotify
Like The Cinematropolis on Facebook
Follow The Cinematropolis on Instagram
