Hurry Up Tomorrow Review- Promising Concept, Disappointing Execution

Trey Edward Shults directed Waves (2019), which earned an impressive 84 percent Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics, leaves no doubt about Shults’ emotional direction skills. The same is seen in Hurry Up Tomorrow, however, there are other issues.

Here is our version of the Hurry Up Tomorrow review that will help you decide whether you should watch the movie or give it a miss. 

Plot details of Hurry Up Tomorrow

In our previous article, we gave an overview of the plot of Hurry Up Tomorrow. Still, for revisiting purposes, The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) is an insomniac singer who ventures on a different form of journey with a mysterious woman, Anima (played by Jenna Ortega). 

He meets a fictionalized version of himself when he meets Anima, who tries to come out of a self-made, unfathomable prison, calling it an existential journey where he questions everything he knows. 

The film is accompanied by The Weeknd’s album of the same name. The film includes many of his songs as well, which are portrayed while he is onstage performing in front of a huge crowd.

The project concludes The Weeknd’s artistic trilogy of his previous albums, After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022). Watch the trailer for a recap: 

The Weeknd and Jenna Ortega’s performances in Hurry Up Tomorrow

According to sources, the name Hurry Up Tomorrow signifies The Weekend’s own persona and the rebirth of his own identity. He is on a road to explore himself, for which he needs closure. 

Accompanying his music album with an acting debut is the biggest thing Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) has ever done. His acting skills need polishing, but it was okay for the first time. His songs, however, took the centre stage. 

Jenna Ortega was great, as always. Her acting, especially towards the end, was great where she kept playing The Weeknd’s songs after tying him to the bed. She wanted him to talk to her about what he had in mind. Was it he who was toxic in his previous relationship? He should confess it. She kept on pushing and kept on playing his songs in front of him, dancing to them, as she was his greatest fan, who was seen in a sold-out concert as well.

It was the first time they had met eyes, and The Weeknd knew there was something different about her. They both went on to enjoy the night after they crashed into each other backstage. The Weeknd was already devastated after having lost his voice on stage. 

Jenna Ortega’s Anima is a shady character, as we were surprised to watch her put her family’s house on fire and instantly evade the scene in the film’s beginning. What does the fire mean, and why does she want to do the same to The Weeknd? It was a completely hysterical yet mesmerizing performance. 

What do critics add to the Hurry Up Tomorrow review?

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is as bad as this.

“On second thought, let’s fast-forward to the workweek.” [Source]

The critics found the film just another stylish demonstration of the Canadian singer without having any real substance in the story. The script keeps running in circles as it does not make any substantial progress in the narrative, which, of course, does not undermine Shults’ excellent direction and visual aesthetics. 

Fans reaction

Fans of The Weeknd might have loved the film, but nothing much, except his moody paranoia and musical intrigue, might have kept the viewers engaged. According to the fans, The Weeknd, as a first-time actor, did “just fine”. They found Jenna Ortega’s and The Weeknd’s chemistry sparkling, and they enjoyed the movie.

The feature is welcomed, particularly by music and movies that want to immerse themselves in the musical treatment of scenes. Even if it is about Jenna Ortega and The Weekend staring at each other, there is always a deep score running in the background that gives a deeper psychological meaning to what we see.

It is possible that fans of music, especially those of The Weeknd’s album, have loved the film, claiming it as creative and not for the average audience.  

Is it worth watching?

You can easily give it a miss. Jenna Ortega was great, the music was great, use of music within the scenes and giving depth to the color-changing flashes with deep scores was amazing (some of them were The Weeknd’s own, and the others were done by the sound designer Johnnie Burn), the editing was excellent since it was Shults (no doubt), but The Weeknd didn’t impress much.

 

 

 

 

 

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His emotions didn’t connect with the story’s narrative. Thin characterization didn’t help the audience feel emotionally connected to the story. Even if it was something close to The Weeknd’s personal life, where he was feeling emotionally low and faced similar issues regarding his voice, it didn’t hit the audience hard.

The film’s aesthetics and color palettes do make it fascinating, trying to immerse the viewers deeper into the scenes, which felt unnecessarily long sometimes. Jenna Ortega and The Weeknd staring into each other’s eyes, with a deep score in the background, just seemed an exhibition of The Weeknd’s music here and there, and nothing else. The depth was still missing. The story didn’t make any sense.

Jenna Ortega seemed like Stephen King’s Misery, who liked setting things ablaze. The Weeknd is a serious patient of anxiety, depression, frustration, and overstimulation who wants to find his life’s direction. Despite the lush cinematography, the screenplay lacks cohesion, as noted by multiple critics.

However, the concept of fire was meaningful, which is a metaphor for death and rebirth. A symbolic representation of The Weeknd’s persona, where he wanted to burn his bad version on the hotel’s bed, leaving every bad element of his life behind and starting afresh, was a manifestation of a new, more authentic self. We saw that as he came back to his makeup seat, and saw himself in the mirror. 

Our rating: 4/10

Is Hurry Up Tomorrow available for streaming? 

Hurry Up Tomorrow (rated R) is now playing in theatres only, via Lionsgate distribution.

Genre: Psychological thriller

IMDb rating: 5.3

Rotten Tomatoes: 15 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 66 percent on Popcornmeter 

Cast: Abel Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan

Director: Trey Edward Shults

Writers: Reza Fahim, Trey Edward Shults, Abel Tesafaye

Producers: Reza Fahim, Harrison Kreiss, Abel Tesfaye, Kevin Turen

Release date: May 16, 2025

Movie runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes 

Do you agree with the review here? Did you like or hate Hurry Up Tomorrow? Share your thoughts in the comments below.