Brendan Fraser's New WWII Movie Pressure Debuts With Strong Rotten Tomatoes Score

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A new World War II movie starring Brendan Fraser has debuted with a stellar Rotten Tomatoes score.

Between The Whale, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, the crime comedy Brothers, and the comedy-drama Rental Family, Brendan Fraser’s movies have covered a wide range of genres in recent years. The popular actor, who won an Academy Award for his performance in The Whale, has also been generating a great deal of buzz since he is reprising his role as Rick O’Connell in The Mummy 4, the long-awaited sequel that is scheduled to release in theaters on October 15, 2027.

Now, Fraser’s new film Pressure has debuted with an 82% critics’ score based on 17 reviews. The score will likely fluctuate as more reviews are added before and after the movie comes to theaters on May 29.

Pressure is a movie about D-Day, but rather than mostly focusing on showing the actual invasion, it is about the 72 hours prior. It tells the real story of how a meteorologist named Captain James Stagg worked to convince General Dwight D. Eisenhower to delay the invasion from June 5, 1944 to June 6 due to perilous weather conditions. Many lives and the outcome of the war were saved as a result of the decision to push it back to June 6. Fraser plays Eisenhower in the film while Emmy Award nominee Andrew Scott plays Stagg.

In ScreenRant‘s Pressure review, Brandon Zachary gives the movie six out of 10 stars and praises the two actors’ performances: “Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser do terrific work in the lead roles, and they’re magnetic enough to make a movie about debates over weather predictions riveting – even if the script and direction can’t quite match their tone.”

IGN‘s review by Jim Vejvoda also gives a “Fresh” score, in this case eight out of 10 stars, because “war movie fans and WWII buffs should appreciate the film’s devotion to detail, while mainstream audiences will be treated to a taut, compelling story about the very real men behind the icons who ensured an Allied victory.”

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Frank Scheck is impressed by the cast, particularly Scott, and how the movie is able to successfully escalate the tension as it progresses: “Featuring an award-worthy performance by Andrew Scott in the lead role and solid supporting turns by Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon and Chris Messina, Pressure lives up to its title with its expert ratcheting up of sustained tension.”

As for the “Rotten” reviews, Alison Foreman at IndieWire expresses frustration at how the director, Anthony Maras, nearly elevates the film, but is ultimately unable to do so: “There are hints of a far better movie peeking out from Maras’ dull weather drama, and the Australian director nearly finds it on numerous occasions.”

In TheWrap‘s review, William Bibbiani compliments Maras’ direction, but feels it doesn’t do enough to justify the full movie: “Maras’ sturdy, competent direction isn’t enough to turn Pressure into anything more than a nifty historical anecdote that can’t sustain a feature-length motion picture.”

More to come…