I don't think but negative reviews they mean that it is dead. If you still see it still has the second largest after bitcoin for 2 years I guess.
But what they mean by dead is return compared to bitcoin ,if you see the price it has increased only 2-3$ in 8 months I guess which is really low if you compare with other altcoins like monero or maybe with bitcoin itself I guess we can call it officially dead if the price still remains same by end of this. But even if you see in general eth isn't a worth investment for now.
It isnt dead. people thinking always about profit in cryptocurrencys but forget the sence of a currency.
it is stable and that is good when you want your money in a safe place.
buy a bitcoin today and you dont know if its worth more or less tomorrow.