Bombshell is a revealing look inside the most powerful and controversial media empire of all time; and the explosive story of the women who brought down the infamous man who created it.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.0/10
IMDb: 6.8/10
Letterboxd: 3.13/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Metacritic: 64
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Jay Roach
Production
Lighthouse Management + Media, Denver & Delilah Productions, Bron Studios, Annapurna Pictures, Creative Wealth Media Finance, Lionsgate
Cast
Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, John Lithgow, Allison Janney, Malcolm McDowell, Kate McKinnon, Connie Britton, Liv Hewson, Jack Haven, Rob Delaney, Mark Duplass, Stephen Root, Robin Weigert, Amy Landecker, Mark Moses, Nazanin Boniadi, Ben Lawson, Josh Lawson, Alanna Ubach
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A polished, well-acted newsroom drama with sharp makeup-and-costume transformation work and strong performances from its leads, but it often feels like it’s skimming the surface of a much more complicated story. It’s worth watching for the acting and the cultural snapshot, less so if you want a truly incisive or fully satisfying account of the scandal.
Best for
Viewers interested in prestige journalism dramas
Fans of transformation-heavy performances
People curious about the Fox News scandal from a mainstream Hollywood angle
Audiences who prefer actor-driven true stories
Skip if
You want a fearless or deeply nuanced treatment of sexual harassment and power
You dislike films that feel politically cautious or simplified
You’re looking for a sharper, more original screenplay
You’re sensitive to stories that center institutional trauma without fully interrogating it
Overview
Bombshell is built like a prestige issue movie: brisk, glossy, and anchored by three strong performances. Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie, and Nicole Kidman do a lot of the heavy lifting, giving the film emotional credibility even when the script feels more interested in broad strokes than in digging into the machinery of complicity and power.
Worth noting
The movie works best as a snapshot of a media ecosystem rotted by fear, vanity, and opportunism. It has moments of real tension and a sobering final stretch, but it often stops short of the more uncomfortable questions its subject raises. That makes it watchable, sometimes compelling, but also frustratingly safe.
Bottom line
If you come for the performances and the behind-the-scenes scandal energy, there’s enough here to hold your attention. If you come hoping for a bracing, morally complex takedown, it lands closer to competent than devastating.
Top Letterboxd reviews
#1 gizmo fan (0.5★) · 2300 likes
I will not be accepting comments when I say men should never be allowed to write or direct movies about women's sexual assault experiences and also that Bombshell is the worst movie of the decade.
Jake Cole (1★) · 1562 likes
There is a genuinely interesting film to be made about the Fox News sexual harassment scandal, one that would meaningfully engage with the way that women who willfully perpetuated Fox's misogynistic culture on TV had to contend with that misogyny when turned on him. That film would home in on this, both the narcissism of women willing to look the other way when it profited them and the fact that, nonetheless, no one deserves to be put through what they… more There is a genuinely interesting film to be made about the Fox News sexual harassment scandal, one that would meaningfully engage with the way that women who willfully perpetuated Fox's misogynistic culture on TV had to contend with that misogyny when turned on him. That film would home in on this, both the narcissism of women willing to look the other way when it profited them and the fact that, nonetheless, no one deserves to be put through what they… more
willa (1.5★) · 1338 likes
megyn kelly is my feminist hero!!! yaaaas queen live laugh love!!! i’m gonna go to lululemon and buy some fucking leggings
Julie (1★) · 1261 likes
imagine if this was oh I don’t know....written by a woman? directed by a woman?
Sara Clements (3.5★) · 1198 likes
I only have two things to say:
1. Margot Robbie2. Kate McKinnon and Margot Robbie