No matter how massive or beloved a franchise is, you can’t please everyone all the time. This is definitely true of Star Wars, especially with the latest installment – which is The Rise Of Skywalker, on the off chance you’ve been living under a rock recently – going down as one of the most divisive entries in the franchise yet, even though it’s now closing in on $1 billion at the box office.
With a mediocre critical rating of just 53% though, Episode IX is now one of the worst-reviewed Star Wars films in history, tied with 1999’s The Phantom Menace. And given that most of the reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are now in and counted, it doesn’t look like that number is going to be changing.
For the most part, critics felt that the finale to the Sequel Trilogy was just an unsatisfying mess. Still, both films may take some solace in the fact that The Clone Wars has them beat by boasting a meagre 18% rating. Then again, that’s an animated movie and doesn’t really count when people talk about the mainline Star Wars pics, which are the three live-action trilogies.
Of course, this doesn’t take into account fan ratings for The Rise Of Skywalker either, which – according to Rotten Tomatoes – are a whole lot better, with the movie currently sitting at 86%. So, it stands to reason that even though critics have judged the film harshly, the fans are standing by it.
And besides, a lot of Star Wars movies seem to get better with time, with many now re-evaluating The Last Jedi and finding it to be a lot more enjoyable than when they first saw it in theaters, and even the prequels seeing more love these days. So, with any luck, The Rise of Skywalker will find itself in a similar position in a few years down the road.
