New John Cena movie added to Rotten Tomatoes’ worst films of all time list

It's been officially recognised by the review aggregator

The wrestler-turned-actor has a mixed film CV, but his newest flick, Freelance, might be the worst of the lot. It hit the bottom of the barrel on its release after it received a 0 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and, at the time of writing, it still has this rock-bottom score after 24 reviews.

It’s rare territory to not get a single percent on RT, so Cena can look at that as a feat in itself. Otherwise, there’s not much to cheer about here. From the trailer alone, it's difficult to work out if it’s a full-on action, comedy or a romance flick and the reviews seem to back that up.

Helmed by Pierre Morel (director of Taken), the film stars Cena as an ex-special forces operative called Mason Pettis, who is dragged from his new boring life as a lawyer, back into a private security mission to protect a journalist (Alison Brie) as she interviews the ruthless dictator, Juan Venegas (Juan Pablo Raba) during a military coup.

The 0 per cent score means the film has now entered the list of the worst movies of all time at number 33.

Other films in the ignominious list include Jaws: The Revenge, The Ridiculous 6, The Last Days of American Crime and Max Steel.

Here are some of the most cutting reviews of the new action comedy.

Roger Ebert – “There’s an oppressive nothingness to Freelance. No romance. No comedy. No action.”

The Hollywood Reporter – “Even the most cherished daydream needs a bit of skill and finessing if it’s to translate to the big screen, and that’s where Freelance falls fatally short — yielding not an uplifting escape, but an enervating bore.”

IGN Movies – “Freelance is an eyesore of horrendous digital effects, features uninspired action, and wastes the few big names in its cast.”

Slant – “By its conclusion, what we’re left with is a cinematic Frankenstein, whose disparate genre elements have been cobbled together without much consideration or fuss.”

It's not all bad though, with the film holding a much more acceptable audience rating of 74 per cent.

We’ll next see John Cena in action-comedy spy thriller Argylle when that arrives in cinemas in February 2024, here’s hoping that one is much better

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