Chris Pine has acknowledged that his directorial debut Poolman was “obliterated” by critics when it premiered last year.

The Star Trek actor stars alongside Annette Bening and Danny DeVito in his first feature, which follows a pool cleaner in Los Angeles who uncovers a water heist.

Critics were not kind to Poolman following its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September, with some calling it “disastrous” and “a misfire”.

Pine acknowledged the negative reception to his movie on this week’s Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast.

“When the film came out at Toronto it was f**king obliterated. I didn’t read any of the reviews but I heard that they were pretty mean,” he said.

The Wonder Woman star added that he knows his film is “a tonal smorgasbord” that won’t appeal to everyone.

“Look man, if I make one f**king film in my life, I’m just going to go balls out with just everything I want to do,” he continued. “I call it a giggle or it’s hopefully a delight. It’s a state of mind. First of all, you’re either gonna lean into this film or you’re not. If you’re on the wavelength and you go on the ride and just want to chill with these people being absolute f**king lunatics, I think you’re gonna have a great time. And if not, it’s not gonna be your cup of tea, that’s all good.”

Pine admitted he once asked himself if he was “truly ready” to release the film and “let it potentially be beaten with a heavy bat” but he was so busy during production that he was distracted from that “burden”. However, once he completed post-production, the worry washed over him again.

“Then settling in for the weight of that experience of putting it out. I never really understood how hard that would be, the vulnerability of that experience,” he candidly confessed.

Poolman will be released in U.S. cinemas on 10 May.

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