Prison Break's reboot sounds like a waste of time

"It's utter nonsense. Mind-numbingly stupid. Worse yet, it's a bore."

From a Salt Lake Tribute critic, that's just one of many terrible reviews the latest season of Prison Break is getting after its debut on US television screens.

The show, about two brothers played by Dominic Purcell and Wentworth Miller who keep getting put in prison for crimes they didn't commit, recently returned for a fifth season on Fox after eight years off air.

And while ratings have been good, reviews have been, well, laughable.

"A clunker that's slow to build and never believable as it takes shape," wrote The Hollywood Reporter.

"There's no nuance to their thinking, no unexpected wrench in the gears that they won't eventually be able to out-maneuver, and this weighs down an already laughably heavy-handed narrative," wrote Collider.

Vox had this to say: "It wants to be a dumb show, full of clichés, that has something to say, and you'd be surprised how easily that tilts over into outright offensiveness."

And Variety called it "puzzling ... by turns mechanical, grim and overly convoluted".

Even the more positive reviews seemed to hope that this might finally be the last we see of Prison Break.

A critic for Newsday wrote: "(It) suggests there's plenty of action ahead, some real-world parallels, and a shaggy dog that could lead us to an interesting place.

"Hopefully that place will finally be closure."

The show so far has a 48 per cent approval rating on Metacritic.

So far, there are no plans to screen Prison Break's fifth season on New Zealand screens.