Hulu’s New Sci-Fi Movie Has Critics & Audiences Very Divided On Rotten Tomatoes

Critics and audiences do not agree on Hulu’s new science-fiction movie In the Blink of an Eye.

The film weaves between three interconnected stories that take place over thousands of years, as they follow neanderthals in the distant past, a researcher in the present day, and a scientist on a spaceship in the 25th century. Rashida Jones and Daveed Diggs play the modern-day characters, while Kate McKinnon portrays the scientist in the future.

On Rotten Tomatoes, In the Blink of an Eye has a “Rotten” 18% score from critics and a “Fresh” 78% score from audiences. The critics’ score is based on 38 reviews, the first of which came after the movie’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2026, and more were added closer to the Hulu streaming debut on February 27. The audience score comes from more than 50 ratings.

Emedo Ashibeze writes in ScreenRant‘s In the Blink of an Eye review that, other than Thomas Newman’s score, Ola Maslik’s production design, and Ole Bratt Birkeland’s cinematography, “These are the only landmarks stopping anyone from forgetting this sci-fi mess in as much time as it takes to blink an eye.” As for the interconnected stories and character development, he notes that “the presentation of this message doesn’t sting well enough to justify skin-deep characters.”

Alissa Wilkinson feels similarly in The New York Times’ review, acknowledging that the movie’s narrative structure and transitions between the three stories limits the characters’ development and the audience’s investment in them: “There’s just not enough space given to these characters to grow into full beings, or for us to understand the full import of their actions before we’re whisked away elsewhere.”

Many of the audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes argue that the critical reception is too harsh and that the lack of character development is not as important as the movie’s important and thought-provoking message. They also note that the film has a slower pace compared to other sci-fi movies, but the three stories ultimately tie together in a satisfying and emotional way.

Andrew Stanton, who has worked on numerous Pixar films, is the director of In the Blink of an Eye. This is the first live-action movie he has directed since Disney’s John Carter in 2012, which underperformed at the box office. For Pixar, Stanton has helmed A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Wall-E, Finding Dory, and the upcoming Toy Story 5. In television, he has directed episodes of Stranger Things, Better Call Saul, Legion, Tales from the Loop, For All Mankind, and 3 Body Problem.

The critical response to Stanton’s Pixar movies and the television series he has directed has been overwhelmingly positive, but between In the Blink of an Eye and a 52% critics’ score and 60% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes for John Carter, his live-action movies have been more divisive.