This weekend, Hugh Jackman‘s new movie Reminiscence premiered both in theaters and on HBO Max, allowing viewers to stream it at home if they aren’t willing to go out during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Reminiscence is among the full slate of movies that Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing directly to HBO Max in 2021 in light of the coronavirus threat. Those are the only ways to watch it for now, and time is running out.
Warner Bros. is releasing all of its 2021 movies simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max, with no additional fee to subscribers. However, the movies are not streaming permanently — they’re only on HBO Max for the duration of an average theatrical run. That means Reminiscence will be leaving HBO Max on Sept. 20, 31 days after it was initially added. The movie is not available to rent or purchase digitally on other streaming platforms yet.
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Reminiscence is a sci-fi thriller starring Jackman as Nick Bannister, a private investigator with a machine that allows him to look into the minds of others. He uses it to go looking for his missing girlfriend. The movie was written and directed by Lisa Joy, and other stars include Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Cliff Curtis, Marina de Tavira, Daniel Wu, Mojean Aria and Brett Cullen.
The movie has naturally drawn comparisons to Westworld, the HBO series that Joy co-created. It has also drawn comparisons to movies like Inception — sometimes unfavorably. A review published by NBC News called it “a noir, mediocre Inception.”
Overall, the movie is getting generally poor reviews — it has a 36 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, based on 107 verified movie reviews. Its audience score has not been calculated yet, but over 100 people have rated it there already. Many critics seemed to dislike the script and found that the sci-fi elements of the story added nothing new.
Reminiscence is the latest in Warner Bros.’ same-day premiere scheme, which is unlike any other COVID-19 strategy in the industry. While others are charging up to $30 to watch brand new movies at home, HBO Max is including them with subscriptions. The next release is Malignant on Sept. 10. Reminiscence is streaming until Sept. 20.
