Primetime (2026) Review

Primetime (2026) Review

Primetime has been memed to death thanks to the internet and Robert Pattinson’s facial expressions. This is a movie that I was very curious about based on the subject matter, Pattinson, and they cut a great trailer that had me very curious and excited to see this movie. What did I think about the film? Is it any good? Let us talk about it!

The Good

One of the things that I loved about the film was how it was able to be this thriller about real life events, that provide this distinct style to it while also being very engaging and engrossing from the very beginning. There are several reasons for that, where it is talking about Chris Hansen as this guy who wants to make this primetime show in To Catch a Predator and exploring the lengths in which he can do that. There is this interesting back and forth that the movie is exploring about. On the one hand, Hansen is doing a great thing in getting predators off the streets, but he is also doing it so he can get a primetime slot in the television schedule. So, are you still doing something good if you are doing it for fame and popularity? There is this interesting idea in this concept that the movie explores through the perspective and mind of Hansen as well as some of the supporting characters. It does not at all feel like a traditional biopic and we will talk more about why later. But going back to the hook of the film, it almost immediately hooks you and it makes you want to see what’s going to happen next and particularly where this story is going and what is going to happen at the end of it. 

This movie is of course about Chris Hansen and exploring the creation and launch of To Catch a Predator, but it is also a film that is about the other people involved and what that does to those people. We already talked about this, but you have the knowledge of what is going on from the perspective of Hansen, but you also have it from the perspective of one of the producers as well as the actors involved. The producer and her mindset are that she’s very talented and keeps on getting offers from other people to come work for them but she believes in what Hansen is doing so has this constant struggle and conversations with others about what she should do. Because it is such this weird concept of a show that has not really been done before, there is a lot of stress on her shoulders to keep this show going. You also have the perspective of one of the actors involved that is luring the predators out to try and expose them, and the toll that it takes on him. He is this struggling actor, and he thinks he gets a big exciting acting gig, but it turns out that it is not as big or as exciting as he had hoped and his friends are treating him as a joke. He is excited that he is getting roles and even being accepted by SAG, but it is not the role that he wanted and it is this uncomfortable thing that he is doing and what he is having to try and act. It is a well-rounded film in the sense that you really feel like you are getting the full perspective of what is going on and like it is painting a big picture of the situation that these people are in. 

From there, I think Lance Oppenheim (no, his last name is not Oppenheimer) does a lot of very cool and creative things in terms of visualizing what is going on. There are several shots in the film that reminded me of Stanley Kubrick and 2001: A Space Odyssey. This is a very different movie for 2001 and Lance and Stanley are not very similar directors, but the color choice used in certain choices and at points it feels like Pattinson is giving the Kubrick stare and so it has a very Kubrick vibe to it that I wasn’t expecting. Beyond that, it is visualized in a way where you can almost feel like you are going inside of Hansen’s head and seeing him process all of what is going on. Or at points there will be a picture taken and it uses the flash to transition into Hansen’s mind. It is one of the most visualizing stunning and stylized movies of the year, which I was not expecting considering it is a biopic about a specific event in history. There is a quote from Denis Villeneuve that says the most important thing about a movie is the face. By the end of the movie, you should be able to look at a character and know exactly what they are thinking and that is 100% true in this movie. There is a scene in the back half with Robert Pattinson and police officers and in the moment, you know exactly what he is thinking despite him not saying anything. We will see what kind of career Lance Oppenheim has and what kind of movies he does, but if he can keep up doing this unique visual style then he could be this interesting director moving forward. 

The big performance you must talk about here is Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen. He has been delivering solid performances for years now, even multiple great performances this year in The Drama and The Odyssey, and he was also a great Batman and The Batman is my favorite movie of the decade. Anyways, as far as Pattinson’s performance here, it is fantastic and there is an argument that this is best performance to date. There has been a lot of chatter surrounding Pattinson and how he might finally land his first Oscar nomination this year for Primetime. I would not be surprised if he is in the conversation and gets talked about a lot at awards season. He is having to give this complex and layered performance as Chris Hansen. He’s having to play the TV persona that the public sees and there’s also moments where he has to act as this guy in the middle of a mental crisis and deteriorating into madness, but he’s also a father and you get a few scenes where he’s the father. There are multiple layers to Hansen in this movie and you need a really skilled actor like Pattinson to portray all of them and he’s not just able to do that but he’s able to do that so well with this totally believable performance. Pattinson continues to show himself as one of the most exciting actors working today and showing that he is so versatile and how he is so much more than Edward Cullen from Twilight. 

Finally, a lot of people have been talking about Pattinson’s performance (and rightfully so) but the other performances in the movie are quite good. The standout behind Pattinson would be Skylar Gisondo as the actor involved in luring the predators out. I primarily know him as Jimmy Olson in James Gunn’s Superman movie, and he was a great Jimmy Olson, and here he is giving this dramatic performance as this struggling actor that sort of found his big break but not really. There’s a few scenes in the back half of the movie where he really gets to shine and be front and center in the scene and he’s so good in this role and while he is great in comedic roles, I also want to see him do more dramatic roles because he’s a solid actor. Merritt Weaver as one of the producers also does a very solid job and I love the chemistry she has with Pattinson, and this complicated relationship as producing partners. What’s fun about this movie is that there’s random appearances from comedic actors that you do not expect to see in a movie like this. So, Anna Faris plays Robert Pattinson’s wife in the movie. Her character is important, but she only has like three minutes of screentime. Alex Winter, Bill from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure shows up in the third act in a role that is different for him. Creed Bratton also has one scene in that movie that is effective and once again not at all like his character on The Office. Farris, Winter, and Bratton are not giving the best performances of the year or anything like that, but they were nice surprises to see them in a movie that you would not expect to see them in. 

The Bad

The big thing here is that I was not thrilled with where the movie ended. To be clear, the ending did not ruin the movie for me. I am positive about this movie, and I think where it ends does feel like the conclusion to the story we have been on, but it ends suddenly and I feel like an epilogue would have been nice. Honestly, I think adding another 5ish minutes to the end and showing where Chris Hansen is at mentally after the events of the film and what his relationship with his wife is like after all of this goes down. I know we can easily Google this information, but I would like to see it through the perspective of the movie and how the movie visualized things. The move is under 2 hours, so adding a few extra minutes would not have been important. 

Also, the middle of the movie dragged a little bit. It feels like it is focusing more on the perspective of the characters rather than driving the plot forward with the predator side of things. All of what is in the second act is important in setting up the third act of the film and so in that regard I think it works, but I also think it drags a little bit and I wish they found a way to tighten it up. I think both the first and third acts are really where the movie shines, the middle act is not bad, but I think it could have been slightly better. 

Final Thoughts: Primetime was one of my most anticipated films in the back half of 2026, and it lived up to the hype. This movie is a great, stylized thriller about this guy in a complicated situation that provides this ethical dilemma that Chris Hansen must struggle through. Robert Pattinson gives a career best performance that needs to be in the awards conversation. This is a movie that I highly recommend you go and watch because it is awesome. 

The Score: 8.9/10 (B+)