“Mea Culpa,” the latest film from renowned mogul Tyler Perry, has faced heavy criticism from viewers since its release.
The legal thriller centers on a criminal defense attorney, played by Kelly Rowland, who takes on the case of an artist, portrayed by Trevante Rhodes, accused of murdering his girlfriend.
Perry served as the writer, director, and producer of the film, which premiered on Netflix earlier this week. Alongside Rowland and Rhodes, the cast includes Nick Sagar, Sean Sagar, RonReaco Lee, Shannon Thornton, and Kerry O’Malley.
Reviews of “Mea Culpa” have been overwhelmingly negative.
The film currently holds a dismal “Rotten” score of only 17 percent on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that less than one-fifth of the critics who watched it gave it a positive review.
Critics have panned the film for its lackluster writing, which feels rushed and devoid of basic logic, chilling twists, and a satisfying conclusion.
Many viewers have expressed boredom and a desire to stop watching the movie within minutes.
While the cast is praised for their performances, the storyline fails to provide entertainment, with sex scenes that come across as forced and unnecessary.
“Mea Culpa” is an overrated film that falls short of expectations for an erotic thriller.
One review on IMDB reads,
This movie is full of the typical TP (Tyler Perry) tropes and overly written caricatures. He is such a poor writer and it continues to be seen in the poor quality of repugnant caricatures he creates. He doesn’t know how to allow characters to be victimized without having to overly exaggerate the scenarios and people surrounding them for it to be possible.
Another one on IMDB reads,
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Right off the bat, the dialogue is ridiculous. Like, comically ridiculous. Within the first 15 minutes, I had to double check that this wasn’t supposed to be a parody of thrillers. Like, how could someone write this and not intend it to be satirical? There’s an evil mother in law that’s so over the top, I’m convinced the writers just went to ChatGPT and asked it to write stereotypes. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if this entire script was AI-generated.
Elliot Collins writes on Rotten Tomatoes,
The only way I’ve been able to sit through this movie is to look at it as a comedy, because this can’t be serious. The film is a mess on all fronts but at least it provided some unintentional laugher.
Another one on Rotten Tomatoes reads.
Soapy, turgid trash is one of the guy’s brands — when he isn’t playing Madea. And this eye-roller is on-brand, first scene to last.
MEA Culpa is Now Streaming on Netflix