As well as being one of the most notable filmmakers of the modern era with an unstoppable work ethic that shows no signs of slowing down even at 85 years of age, Ridley Scott has also developed a reputation for being one of Hollywood’s most famous curmudgeons, but his criticism of The Last Duel bombing at the box office may have been his grumpiest outburst yet.
The acclaimed historical epic won over critics to the tune of an 85 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, and it might just be the filmmaker’s finest return to the genre he almost single-handedly rehabilitated with Gladiator, although that’s dependent on how you feel about the Director’s Cut of Kingdom of Heaven. It sure as sh*t beats Robin Hood and Exodus: Gods and Kings anyway.
Despite such widespread praise, The Last Duel couldn’t even recoup a third of its mammoth $100 million budget at the box office, even if the pandemic certainly played a huge part given that we’re talking an R-rated epic that runs for 153 minutes. Scott didn’t hold back, though, and came right out to blame millennials and “their f*cking cell phones” for its failure.
Diving headfirst into “old man yells at cloud” territory, the Academy Award winner opined that “the millennials do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the cell phone,” which sort of flies in the face of The Last Duel currently making some serious headway up the streaming ranks.
Per FlixPatrol, the egregiously overlooked sword-swinging gem is currently one of the top-viewed titles on iTunes, just don’t tell Scott there’s a high chance people are watching it on their phones and tablets at the expense of an actual television.
