Tom Hanksteamed up once more with Robert Zemeckis, now for the drama movieHere, which will be the project that determines the legacy of their 30-year partnership. Tom Hanks continues to be one of the most popular and beloved actors of his generation thanks to his persona on and off the screen. Although Hanks’ acting career peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, mostly in the genres of drama and romantic comedies, he has made a bit of everything in over four decades of his career. Of course, Hanks has collaborated with some directors, producers, and actors more than once, among them filmmaker Robert Zemeckis.
Robert Zemeckis’ career began in the 1970s with short films, with his first feature-length project being the comedyI Wanna Hold Your Hand, in 1978. Zemeckis gained attention when he directed the comedy adventure movieRomancing the Stonein 1984, and ten years later, he worked with Hanks for the first time inForrest Gump. Since then,Hanks and Zemeckis have collaborated on a total of four movies, with a fifth scheduled for a 2024 release – and the latter will be key in determining the legacy of their partnership.
Only Half Of Tom Hanks & Robert Zemeckis' Movies Are Fresh On Rotten Tomatoes
There’s An Interesting Balance In Tom Hanks & Robert Zemeckis’ Movies
Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks have teamed up on four movies (without countingHere), all of them very different. First wasForrest Gump, in which Hanks played the title character, a man with a low IQ who recounts the early years of his life and how he found himself as part of key historical events.Forrest Gumpwas a big critical and commercial success, giving Hanks and Zemeckis the Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Director, respectively.Forrest Gumphas a 76% critics score onRotten Tomatoesand a 95% audience score, granting it a “fresh” label on both.
Forrest Gump True Story: Every Historical Event & How Accurate They Are
Forrest Gump documents the latter half of the 20th century, comically inserting Forrest in major historical events. How accurate are the portrayals?
Hanks and Zemeckis reunited in 2000 for the survival drama movieCast Away, where Hanks played a FedEx troubleshooter who is stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in the South Pacific and must find ways to survive and return home.Cast Awaywas a critical and commercial success, and it holds an 89% critics scorenext to an 84% audience rating, once again earning a “fresh label”. These high ratings ended when Hanks and Zemeckis teamed up again in 2004 forThe Polar Express.
The Polar Expressis an animated Christmas adventure movie that depicted human characters using live-action and motion capture computer animation, which at the time was innovative.The Polar Expressfollows a young boy who rides the title train bound for the North Pole, withHanks playing multiple characters, such as the Conductor. Unfortunately,The Polar Expressgot mixed reviews from critics and struggled at the box office, and it doesn’t have a good rating onRotten Tomatoes.The Polar Expresshas a 56% critics score, making it “rotten”, but a 64% audience score, making it “fresh”.
The Polar Expresswas the first all-digital capture movie.
In 2022, Hanks and Zemeckis worked together again inPinocchio, the live-action remake of Disney’s 1940 animated classic. Hanks played Geppetto, Pinocchio’s creator and father, and the movie followed the exact same story as the animated version, though with a couple of changes, most notably the ending.Pinocchiofollows an unfortunate trend of Disney’s live-action remakes and has a 28% critics scoreonRotten Tomatoesaccompanied by a 27% audience score, making it “rotten” in both categories.
Here Will Swing Hanks & Zemeckis' Legacy On Rotten Tomatoes
Here Will Be A Definitive Movie In Hanks & Zemeckis’ Team
Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis’ next collaboration is the drama movieHere, based on the 2014 graphic novel of the same name by Richard McGuire.Hereshows the events of a single spot of land and its inhabitants – from the construction of the house to the many experiences the family living in it went through. For this,Herehas the camera set on one spot and doesn’t move at all– instead, it’s the setting and props that are changed, and the actors were technologically de-aged so the movie can tell their stories from the past, present, and future.
Herestars Hanks as Richard Young and Robin Wright as his wife, Margaret, being the main characters of the story.Hereis scheduled to premiere at the AFI Fest on August 19, 2025, before being theatrically released on June 16, 2025. No matter how well or badly it does with critics,Herewill define if the majority of Hanks and Zemeckis’ movies are either “fresh” or “rotten”onRotten Tomatoes.
Will Here Snap Tom Hanks & Robert Zemeckis Rotten Streak With Critics?
Here Will Either End Or Worsen Hanks & Zemeckis’ Rotten Streak
Predicting the success or failure ofHereis tricky due to the technology and techniques used in it.De-aging technology has been quite controversial in recent years, making it a tough sell, but the idea of a movie told in a single frame is quite interesting and enough to spark the audience’s curiosity.Herecould very well be the movie that givesTom Hanksand Robert Zemeckis positive reviews again, but if the story isn’t strong enough, it could continue their rotten streak.
Here
Here is an objective and formal description for the movie Here (2024): Directed by Robert Zemeckis, this film is an exploration of time and memory, unraveling the intertwined lives and stories of families across generations in a New England setting.
