Fatal Attraction reboot with Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan on Paramount+ gets mixed reviews

Fatal Attraction starring Joshua Jackson and Lizzy Caplan premiered Sunday on Paramount+ to mixed reviews from critics and viewers.

The eight-episode reinvention of the 1987 psychosexual thriller starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close earned a weak 33 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It also received a score of 47 out of 100 on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, indicating “mixed or average reviews.”

Jackson, 44, stepped into the role of lawyer Dan Gallagher made famous by Douglas, 78, for the series, while Caplan, 40, plays Alex Forrest, who played Close, 76, in the original.

Time in a review of the series, it called it “Fatally Atrocious” in the headline and labeled it a “disaster” due to the “excessively long realignment of Alex’s childhood and sanity and Dan’s straight-white male privilege.”

Weekly entertainment praised Jackson and Caplan for their performances while ridiculing the series’ “dumb ending.”

The solution to the murder mystery is largely devoid of logic, and the final minutes deliver a cliffhanger twist that comes just as out of nowhere – one that returns to the type of lazy, ‘she crazy’ characterization the series ostensibly sought to overcome, read the review that gave the series a C+ grade.

The Hollywood Reporter review was critical of the “two endings”, calling one “stupid and anticlimactic” and the other “ridiculous and stupid”.

“I could work to justify the first ending on emotional terms and the second on pop psychological terms. It still wouldn’t be enough to make the show worthwhile,” the review read.

The first three episodes were released on Sunday and began when Dan was paroled after serving 15 years for the murder of Alex Forrest, followed by a time jump back to his days as a promising Los Angeles prosecutor.

The first episodes showed their affair starting with a steamy meeting in the kitchen before moving to the bedroom and disturbing behavior from manipulative Alex.

The series also features Amanda Peet, 51, who plays Dan’s wife Beth, and Alyssa Jirrels, 21, who portrays their daughter Ellen.

Fatal Attraction was developed for Paramount+ by Alexandra Cunningham and Kevin J. Hynes and the teleplay for the first two episodes was written by Cunningham and James Dearden, 73, who wrote the screenplay for the original film.

Famous roles: Jackson, 44, stepped into the role of attorney Dan Gallagher made famous by Douglas, 78, for the series, while Caplan plays Alex Forrest who played Close in the original

Relatives: The series also features Amanda Peet, 51, who plays Dan’s wife Beth, and Alyssa Jirrels, 21, who portrays their daughter Ellen

Father in Prison: Alyssa got back in touch with Daniel after he was paroled for killing Alex

New Setting: The reboot took place in Los Angeles, while Alex and Dan worked in a courthouse

The original film was based on Dearden’s 1980 British short film Diversion which he wrote and directed.

The reboot also received mixed reviews on social media.

One viewer posted on Twitter that the series was “further proof that remakes don’t have to be made all the time.”

Another tweet poked fun at Jackson for bearing a striking resemblance to the late Paul Sorvino from his Goodfellas era.

Jackson’s haircut from the 15-year time jump also distracted some viewers.

No need: One viewer posted on Twitter that the series was “further proof that remakes don’t have to be made all the time”

Shocking twist: Another tweet poked fun at Jackson for bearing a striking resemblance to the late Paul Sorvino from his Goodfellas era

Distracting hair: Jackson’s 15-year time jump hairstyle was also distracting for some viewers

For Sale: The reboot featured a tense scene where Alex met Dan’s wife Beth at their open house