Todd Russell’s review published on Letterboxd:
A young, unlikable genius boy goes in search of some rare artifact said to be stolen by his missing father. It's sort of a Young Adult Mission Impossible blended with some odd-looking fairies in an underground city.
The movie opens strong with Mulch Duggins -- a not-so-annoying bearded Josh Gad -- as a quasi reliable or non-reliable (we can't tell at first) -- narrator. I was interested from the beginning, but it goes downhill quickly after that when Judi Dench who played an amazing M, was last seen slinking around in that cinematic cat crap known as Cats. She's terrible here too with a grating voice that I can't get out of my head.
There was nothing likable about Artemis Fowl. Why should I root for this aloof young boy? Why should I care if he finds out what happens to his father?
The visual effects and music are OK, that's about all I can give this one. In my opinion, this would have bombed hard in the theaters. Disney must have latched onto something in preview screenings and downplayed this stinker.
I made it through this movie but went from mildly disliking to worse by the ending. If you're already a Disney+ subscriber the good news is the fowl, er foul, stench of this movie won't cost you anything. I wouldn't recommend this as any kind of reason to sign up for D+. Wait for Season 2 of The Mandalorian in a few months. Then you can give it a try if you really want to. I'm sure the books are better than this and I've never read a word.