Viewers slam ‘uninspired and shallow’ TV reboot of beloved 90s film-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

A new TV show based on a cult classic 90s film has been panned (Picture: Columbia/ Sony/ Kobal/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

A TV series based on a hit 90s movie starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon and Selma Blair has been labelled ‘a cheap imitation of a timeless classic’.

Released in 1999, the teen romantic drama Cruel Intentions was a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Set in New York City it followed privileged high school students fighting for control of their campus after a brutal hazing incident who stopped at nothing to secure it, including a twisted bet to seduce the daughter of their new headmaster.

The movie is now considered a cult classic and led to a prequel in 2000 and a sequel in 2004.

However, a new TV series based on the story hasn’t gone down with fans too well at all.

The Amazon Prime series stars Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, and Savannah Lee Smith but in the days after being released its only picked up a score of 30 on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cruel Intentions, released in 1999, starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Phillippe and Selma Blair (Picture: Melissa Moseley/ Columbia/ Kobal/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

‘The show doesn’t work on many levels, but the worst of it is that the writing is so uninspired, shallow and generic,’ Greg posted on the review site.

‘Don’t waste your time on this. It’s a cheap imitation of a timeless classic. Stick to the original movie and you will get far more in every department. The acting is wooden, and the plot isn’t improved upon. It is a fail, through and through,’ Mark shared.

‘I wouldn’t waste my time on this corny and predictable garbage,’ another added.

The new series stars Cece Carroway (Sara Silva), Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook), and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess) (Picture: Jasper Savage /Prime Video)

Even before the show was released, many were questioning the need for it at all.

‘Stop remaking classics, user Michelle posted on the YouTube trailer.

Meanwhile many others said they’d instead stick to watching the original.

One viewer said it was ‘a cheap imitation of a timeless classic’ (Picture: Jasper Savage/ Prime Video)

Earlier this year the movie’s director Roger Kumbl spoke to Metro celebrate the film’s 25-year anniversary but admitted it probably would struggle to be made in the same way today.

‘No. I don’t think so,’ he said when asked whether it would still be a hit in present day. ‘We hit on some tropes that still exist today, that were still scandalous for its time and are still scandalous today.

‘It was risky, we really hit some taboos. [Sebastian] does some horrible things. But, because of Selma’s performance, and because of how she plays these scenes – in the hands of another actress, this movie would have gone off the rails.

‘It’s its own little time capsule. The fact that it set up earlier that you’re laughing before then, so it’s not veering. That’s why the movie works in its own way right now,’ he added.

Cruel Intentions is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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