‘Primetime’ Review: Robert Pattinson’s Cold Turn as Chris Hansen Can’t Save a Repetitive Critique

“Primetime” targets ambitious television producers more aggressively than the predators they hunt.

Harsh? Knee-jerk? Fair? Perhaps all three.

Robert Pattinson’s cold, mesmerizing turn as NBC’s Chris Hansen mirrors the icy detachment of the film itself. While the morality of gotcha journalism and the lengths networks will go to secure ratings offers fertile ground for exploration, the film settles for a repetitive lecture, dressed up with flashy close-ups and dramatic orchestral cues.

Pattinson portrays Hansen, the iconic host who built a career confronting child predators moments before they encountered their intended decoys. The premise is compelling, and in the mid-2000s, this high-stakes gambit drew massive audiences. It also removed dangerous individuals from the streets—a genuinely positive outcome.

Right?

Now, the pressure of primetime television forces Hansen to escalate. To keep the show’s “decoys”—actors posing as underage individuals—under control, Hansen must deliver increasingly sensational targets. Among these actors is Dan (Skyler Gisondo), a 30-year-old playing a 23-year-old. He is entirely unconvincing as a teenager, but the script moves past this premise regardless.

Hansen is consumed by the show, his personal brand, and the pursuit of the biggest catches. When his team flags a high-profile pedophile, Hansen does not see a threat; he sees prime-time ratings gold.

On his narrative debut, director Lance Oppenheim fills the screen with striking, claustrophobic visuals. Extreme close-ups and a tight aspect ratio create a suffocating atmosphere, while Pattinson’s scenery-chewing performance successfully transforms Hansen into a chilling monster.

And it works on a visual level.

Is Hansen a monster? A vain reporter who struck gold on television? A man who valued ratings over the well-being of his victims and colleagues?

Perhaps. The film, loosely “inspired” by true events, refuses to offer easy answers.

Yet the narrative remains cold and soulless, offering Hansen no redeeming humanity. Even fictional cannibals like Dr. Hannibal Lecter possessed moments of charm. Hansen, by contrast, is an absolute monster. He forces his young children to watch his inappropriate segments to feed his ego. The film grants Pattinson only one brief scene of consequence with his wife (Anna Faris, underutilized) and depicts him dating a younger woman in a deeply unsettling sequence.

When Dan fumbles his first decoy assignment, Hansen reassures him that he is doing “the Lord’s work.” The host shows no regard for the young actor’s inner turmoil. One wonders if the film should have told the story from Dan’s perspective instead.

Pattinson’s performance is meticulously crafted and technically impressive, yet it risks becoming one-dimensional—a flaw the actor should have worked harder to avoid.

“Primetime” establishes its bleak tone early on and merely regurgitates it for the next hour. Every figure associated with broadcast television is depicted as internally or externally ugly. Motives are invariably impure.

Robert Pattinson didn’t initially plan to star as Chris Hansen in ‘Primetime,’ but director Lance Oppenheim says Four Loko, gummies, and script rewrites helped change the actor’s mind.

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 22, 2026

In the modern media landscape, journalists deserve rigorous criticism, and the tactics shown here are highly questionable. The film attempts to explore the intersection of crime and television punishment, but it stops short of letting its characters grapple with their emotions or seek alternative methods to apprehend predators.

An early airplane scene stands out as the film’s dramatic peak. A stranger (Creed Bratton from “The Office”) praises Hansen’s work as they sit together. The moment allows Pattinson to expose Hansen’s false modesty while highlighting how public exposure is the ultimate punishment.

Bokeem Woodbine makes a brief appearance as a Texas lawman, adding a layer of blustery buffoonery. The film leans into regional caricature, mocking the state’s larger-than-life persona, which only reinforces the story’s clumsy nature.

It is difficult to imagine the real Chris Hansen sitting through “Primetime,” regardless of his real-life flaws. For general audiences, the film is a less personal but equally tedious slog.

HiT or Miss: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 100 minutes
Where to Watch: In theaters Sept. 25
Family Friendly? No. Nudity, adult language, mature themes and suggestive conversations – R

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