Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic adaptation of Peter Heller’s novel opened in U.S. theaters on August 28 after early European releases, landing with a sharply negative critical consensus that has stabilized the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer in the high 30s to low 40s across 70–120 reviews. Critics consistently praise Erik Messerschmidt’s sweeping cinematography and strong turns from Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, and Josh Brolin, yet fault the familiar pandemic-survivor tropes, unfocused script, and lack of tension or fresh ideas relative to recent genre benchmarks like The Last of Us. This places the film among Scott’s weaker recent entries, with mixed Metacritic scores around 50 and limited awards or box-office tailwinds likely to shift the critic aggregate further. Audience Popcornmeter data will emerge next, but the critic score is largely locked in.