Primetime // Fantastic Film Festival 2026 Review

Primetime was my last movie at Fantastic Fest, and I wasn’t mad I ended my time on a chaotic Chris Hansen note. To Catch a Predator is a core part of early aughts pop culture. So much so that even if you didn’t watch the show, you knew exactly how it went. I only caught bits and pieces of the series when it aired. Plus I wasn’t interested because I generally didn’t care for reality series. All I knew back then was that Chris Hansen took down bad guys and broke serious stories. He was a good guy.

Are Men Okay?

I hadn’t revisited that idea of him until after watching Primetime, and wasn’t I wrong? It’s more nuanced. This movie made me do a deep dive on the show, the criminal investigations, and the people involved. Before the movie, I was expecting 90 minutes of predator take-downs. However, I received something completely different and far more complex than I imagined. Primetime follows Chris Hansen (Robert Pattinson), the host of To Catch a Predator, in 2006 as he tries to take the show to the next level. Primetime is not what I expected, but it was worth the watch.

I had no problem accepting that Pattinson was Chris Hansen as soon as he slid onto the scene. To be fair, I haven’t watched any of the original footage lately, so that could play a role in the easy acceptance. Pattinson expertly cycled through complex emotions as we rode the wave of Hansen’s career onscreen. He seemed to incorporate a mix of hubris and fear. The film took us through HUGE career wins like making it to primetime, but then drug us through the mud of the Murphy, Texas investigation. We watched him slowly twist into a different person. I think the close-ups with the harsh blush were overkill, but Pattinson’s performance will sink its hooks into you.

That’s Mr. Woodbine and Supporting Cast

Robert Pattinson was top-billed, but I didn’t expect Bokeem Woodbine as Cortland Gunn to steal the show! I found myself laughing at a film I thought would be wholly serious. The humor was bittersweet because while I enjoyed it, I don’t know if this movie was the right place for it. Primetime might have added a little too much drama to the on-screen portrayal of certain events. Unless Gunn was quoted as saying something along the lines of  “We have guns!” (That would be wild, but not far-fetched). Dan Plum (Skyler Gisondo) also had a lot of comedic moments. However, I’m not sure why his relationship with his friend took up so much screen time. The script created that drama, and that was a choice.

The timeline was also a choice. We kept switching from place to place, so it became a struggle to keep up. Additionally, Primetime crams a lot of events together for dramatic effect, even though they happen years apart. With so many moving parts, I felt like I was in the Mr. Krabs filter. Instead of all the drama, I would have liked more of a focus on network politics. I surprisingly found the slick comments and cutthroat activities to be the most interesting parts of the movie. I mean, outside of Bokeem Woodbine, anyway. Primetime is an entertaining watch, albeit not very accurate.