Cillian Murphy’s first Netflix movie, Steve, debuted to a solid Rotten Tomatoes score after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The actor can last be seen playing the lead role in Small Things Like These. With an RT score of 94%, the movie is among his highest-rated projects, including Kensuke’s Kingdom (97%), The Dark Knight (94%), and Oppenheimer (93%).

However, Rotten Tomatoes score alone doesn’t dictate a movie’s success. Some of the Peaky Blinders star’s best movies are not his best rated projects. Inception received an 87% RT score, and Red Eye has a critical approval rate of 80%.

Cillian Murphy’s First Netflix Movie, Steve, Debuts To A Solid Rotten Tomatoes Score

Starring Cillian as a headteacher at a reform school, Steve‘s cast also features Little Simz, Tracey Ullman, Jay Lycurgo, Emily Watson, and many more. The movie follows Cillian’s тιтle character as he struggles with his own mental wellbeing while managing a school full of boys with social and behavioral issues.

The movie will first be released in theaters on September 19 before coming to Netflix’s streaming platform on October 3.

After the world premiere, Steve has a 75% critical approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes. Generated from 16 reviews, the movie has garnered praise from Variety, Guardian, The Independent, ScreenRant, and the likes, with the majority finding Tim Mielants’ movie moving and the cast’s performances memorable. On the other hand, some have criticized its tendency for melodrama and weak characterization.

Our Take On Cillian Murphy’s First Netflix Movie, Steve

While it’s likely the score for Steve will change when more reviews are released, the solid RT score is still far from making it to the actor’s top 5 list, but in the grand view of the actor’s filmography, Steve is also far from the worst, though in comparison to Cillian Murphy’s best movies, it does land on the lower side.

Cillian Murphy’s performance rarely disappoints, but he’s hardly the best part of the Netflix movie. As Mae Abdulbaki pointed out in her ScreenRant‘s review for Steve, “it isn’t your average teacher-student movie.” Diverging away from conventional storytelling, the movie is “experimental in many ways.”

Even though the movie revolves around a simple premise, the cast’s performance and character dynamics made it work. Abdulbaki highlighted the “phenomenal ensemble” in her review but warned that the movie could be an intense and chaotic watch due to its dedication to capture “the feeling of being overwhelmed,” which may not resonate with every viewer.