Ridley Scott Called This Sci-Fi Masterpiece Too "Slow" — It's Now Streaming for Free

Director Ridley Scott made a disappointing return to the sci-fi genre this year with the post-apocalyptic movie The Dog Stars. Starring Jacob Elordi in the lead role, the film grossed around $40 million worldwide against a reported budget of approximately $100 million. Around the time of the film's release and mediocre reception, Scott announced his intention to return to the Alien franchise, which he helped create in the 1970s. The only trouble is that the franchise was going in an entirely different direction, one that Scott clearly wasn't too impressed by. Scott voiced similar reservations about another reboot of one of his most memorable movies. The movie in question was recently added to a free streaming platform.

A couple of years ago, director Fede Álvarez successfully rebooted the Alien series with Alien: Romulus, which grossed $350 million worldwide against a reported budget of $80 million and received excellent reviews. A sequel to the movie was quickly announced, but some time later, Álvarez revealed that he wouldn't be returning as director. Scott said in an interview that he found the movie to be just "okay," and that he intends to revisit the narrative that he began with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.

While Prometheus grossed more than $400 million worldwide, Covenant underperformed with around $240 million globally and brought the franchise to a halt. It wasn't until Romulus that the series appeared to have been resurrected. However, with Scott effectively wanting to erase the movie entirely, it remains to be seen where the series will go next. Curiously, Scott made similar comments about Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049.

Here's Where You Can Watch the Sci-Fi Epic for Free

+3

Released in 2017, the legacy sequel received phenomenal reviews but underperformed commercially. It ended up grossing only around $280 million worldwide against a reported budget of more than $180 million. However, many found it to be an improvement over Scott's original, the classic sci-fi noir Blade Runner. Scott disagreed with this contingent, saying in an interview that he found Blade Runner 2049 to be too "slow" and too "long."

The movie now holds a "Certified Fresh" 88% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Visually stunning and narratively satisfying, Blade Runner 2049 deepens and expands its predecessor's story while standing as an impressive filmmaking achievement in its own right." The Blade Runner franchise will be rebooted on November 25 with the Prime Video series Blade Runner 2099, starring Hunter Schafer and Michelle Yeoh. Meanwhile, you can revisit Villeneuve's epic on Pluto TV.