Colin Trevorrow was shocked by the negative reaction to The Book of Henry

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

After the release of JURASSIC WORLD, director Colin Trevorrow set out to tackle something a little smaller before heading back to the world of blockbusters for STAR WARS: EPISODE IX. The film sandwiched between those two behemoths wound up being THE BOOK OF HENRY, a drama which follows a brilliant eleven-year-old (Jaeden Lieberher) who tries to save his neighbor (Maddie Ziegler) from her abusive stepfather (Dean Norris) with the help of his mother (Naomi Watts). The response to the film has, unfortunately for Trevorrow, not been kind, with many critics calling the film out for its confounding tonal shifts.

While speaking with the Empire Podcast, THE BOOK OF HENRY director Colin Trevorrow spoke about his disappointment from the reaction the film has received.

It came to us as a bit of a shock. We did not anticipate that level of vitriolic dislike for the film. In the end, do I want to be somebody who pleases both audiences and critics? Absolutely. Is that hugely disappointing? It is. I do stand by the movie. I know it's something I'm very proud of, and everyone who made it is very proud.

Colin Trevorrow also acknowledged that his high-profile status as the director behind JURASSIC WORLD and STAR WARS: EPISODE IX may have given THE BOOK OF HENRY a little more attention than he anticipated. "What I may have underestimated is how my visibility as somebody who is responsible for two things that we all care about deeply, and are massive parts of our public consciousness and shared mythology – how that level of visibility would shine a spotlight that I hadn't considered," Trevorrow said.

THE BOOK OF HENRY is now playing in theaters if you'd like to make up your own mind about the film, but be sure to check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray as well. Spoiler alert, "Razzie-level bad" and "serious misfire" are mentioned. Ruh oh.

Those of you who have seen the film, does THE BOOK OF HENRY deserve the level of dislike being thrown at it?