Did audience like ‘Last Jedi’?
With glowing reviews from critics and $450.8 million of worldwide box office in the first three days of release of “The Last Jedi,” all would seem to be right in the “Star Wars” universe.
But some audience reaction metrics suggest not all “Star Wars” fans are so thrilled with Rian Johnson’s eighth episode in the franchise. While “The Last Jedi” sports a sterling 93 percent fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, the website’s users give it only a 56 percent score . A similar dichotomy is also found on the movie review aggregation website Metacritic, where the movie has a score of 86 out of 100 from critics but earned a woeful 4.9 out of 10 from users.
The role reversal between critics and fans has caused consternation throughout the “Star Wars” galaxy. Could “The Last Jedi” be a critical smash and a dud with audiences? Is “The Last Jedi” more “Attack of the Clones” than “The Empire Strikes Back”? What in the name of midi-chlorians is going on here?
For starters, the responses on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic are to be taken with a Death Star-sized grain of salt. They’re supplied by users to the website who can, by creating numerous accounts, vote limitlessly, and need offer no proof of having actually seen the movie.
But why would anyone want to sabotage “The Last Jedi”?
Well, there have been growing signs of rebellion against the galaxy far, far away. Some conservative moviegoers have taken issue with the current trilogy’s embrace of multiculturalism.
Claiming an anti-Donald Trump agenda, some called for a boycott of last year’s spinoff “Rogue One.” Writer Chris Weitz noted the Empire “is a white supremacist (human) organization.”
Politics have always played a role in “Star Wars.” George Lucas has said he wrote it as a Nixon-era parable for the Vietnam War, about how democracies turn into dictatorships. But in carrying those themes forward to today, “The Last Jedi” has been fed into America’s combustible politics. Even Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has volleyed with Texas Senator Ted Cruz on Twitter over net neutrality.
“Similar to other movie sites, we’re currently experiencing a high volume of fan activity around ’Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’” said Rotten Tomaotes spokesman Tiyson Reynolds. “We’re closely monitoring all user review activity to make sure it’s valid.” But their low ratings don’t jive with other, more scientific data.
Like “The Force Awakens,” ″The Last Jedi” won an A CinemaScore, which polls audiences coming out of theaters. CinemaScore counted feedback as 89 percent positive. ComScore’s PostTrak audience survey recorded an average five-out-five star rating from moviegoers, with 80 percent saying they would recommend it.
And then there’s the mammoth box office. With $220 million in domestic ticket sales, “The Last Jedi” is now the second highest grossing opening weekend of all time, after J.J. Abrams’ “The Force Awakens.”