Man Ritchie isn’t any stranger to reinventing genres. From the gritty streets of Lock, Inventory and Two Smoking Barrels to the trendy reinvention of Sherlock Holmes, he has carved out a signature fashion that marries chaos with allure. Given this popularity, when it was introduced that Ritchie could be teaming up with John Krasinski and Natalie Portman for a treasure-hunting caper referred to as Fountain of Youth, expectations had been sky-high. Launched on Apple TV+ on Might 23, 2025, the movie promised an exhilarating mix of historical past, humor, and heist, all revolving across the fable of the elusive elixir of immortality.
Nevertheless, the ultimate product appears to have landed with extra of a boring splash than a triumphant dive. Critics and audiences alike are unimpressed, though the movie has carried out effectively on streaming. With a meager 35% critic score and an underwhelming 41% viewers rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Fountain of Youth now holds the doubtful distinction of being Ritchie’s second-worst-reviewed movie by audiences, simply narrowly escaping the underside spot held by Swept Away, which has an viewers rating of simply 28%.
Fountain of Youth
- Launch Date
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Might 23, 2025
- Runtime
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125 minutes
- Writers
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James Vanderbilt
- Producers
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Jake Myers, William Sherak, Dana Goldberg, David Ellison, Don Granger, Tripp Vinson, Ivan Atkinson
Star Energy Wasn’t Sufficient To Save ‘Fountain of Youth’
Any viewer would have anticipated a movie starring John Krasinski and Natalie Portman, each well-known for his or her emotive vary and charisma, to be a knockout. The premise undoubtedly had potential: two estranged siblings teaming up for a globe-spanning heist to uncover the legendary Fountain of Youth. It appears like a modern-day Nationwide Treasure with extra coronary heart. Nevertheless, fairly sadly, as many Rotten Tomatoes customers have been fast to level out, the celebs appear to be working with a script that simply does not give them room to shine.
Krasinski, greatest identified for his refined depth in Jack Ryan and his breakout position in The Workplace, feels oddly miscast because the adventurous but emotionally indifferent brother. Portman, whereas as luminous as ever, is saddled with clunky exposition and dialogue that leans closely on clichés. As per critics from Leisure Weekly:
“The characterizations are flat, the would-be quippy dialogue not often elicits laughs, and the motion sequences seldom rise above the extent of passable.”
Rotten Tomatoes customers echo this disappointment. The plot has moments of intrigue, however with out emotional weight or sharp wit, even high-octane scenes really feel mechanical. Ritchie’s regular aptitude for dialogue is notably absent, changed by flat, predictable traces that lack the spark followers have come to anticipate. In line with critic Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“Ritchie stays missing in his capability to direct actors. John Krasinski, Eiza González and Natalie Portman all star in “Fountain of Youth,” they usually’ve by no means been so unappealing.”
The Globetrotting Journey in ‘Fountain of Youth’ Performs Like a Journey Brochure
When a movie is known as a “treasure hunt movie,” audiences envision lush areas, heart-pounding chases, and jaw-dropping clues hidden in historical artifacts. Fountain of Youth has all of the substances for a visible feast, together with unique locales and underground temples. But one way or the other, the movie manages to make the world really feel surprisingly small.
Critics and customers alike have slammed the movie for being fashion over substance. Whereas Ritchie has typically been praised for his kinetic visuals, this time round, the path feels oddly restrained, nearly bordering on lazy. There’s little narrative urgency in the best way scenes are stitched collectively, and transitions from one nation to a different lack dramatic weight or storytelling objective.
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The movie’s makes an attempt at puzzle-solving typically boil right down to fast data dumps and miraculous leaps in logic, making the journey really feel contrived quite than earned. In consequence, as an alternative of drawing viewers right into a wealthy, immersive world, Fountain of Youth provides audiences a slideshow of missed alternatives. “Given all the weather concerned, Fountain of Youth needs to be a blast. That it is not is an actual disappointment,” stated Ben Travis of Empire Journal. The emotions are echoed by MovieWeb’s Mark Keizer.
“There’s no hiding the mechanical nature of this globe-trotting beast, which sends an ill-matched John Krasinski and Natalie Portman to Thailand, England, Austria, Egypt and wherever else Apple TV+ presumably wants a subscriber increase.”
Man Ritchie’s Signature Fashion Feels Watered Down in ‘Fountain of Youth’
Man Ritchie has constructed a model on brash, fast-talking characters, stylized violence, and nonlinear storytelling. This attribute fashion is what made works equivalent to Snatch and The Gentleman cult favorites. Nevertheless, in Fountain of Youth, Ritchie appears to be taking part in it surprisingly secure, and it’s undoubtedly not working in his favor.
The movie ditches the director’s regular swagger in favor of a extra generic, family-friendly tone. That may be intentional, contemplating the wide-appeal method that Apple TV+ tends to favor. Nevertheless, the result’s a lackluster film that lacks identification and fails to really feel like a Man Ritchie movie. Though there are a couple of moments the place Ritchie’s fingerprints are seen, a split-screen sequence right here and a fast-cut montage there, they nonetheless really feel shoehorned into an in any other case simple narrative.
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Because the second-lowest-rated movie in Man Ritchie’s profession on Rotten Tomatoes, Fountain of Youth stands as a reminder that audiences crave extra than simply shiny areas and well-known faces. They need story, spark, and that unmistakable sense of ‘Ritchie’. With out it, Fountain of Youth turns into precisely what viewers and critics have accused it of being: a forgettable journey dressed up in an costly costume.
Fountain of Youth is accessible to stream on Apple TV+.