Regarding the critical and popular reception of the various Star Wars films
With the sequel trilogy complete, I spent the last afternoon of 2019 (a.k.a. that weird lull before dinner and the new year's eve festivities) compiling some data about Star Wars films. Specifically: their reception by audience members and professional critics. I got around to finishing up my little analysis on January 2nd of 2020, and shared it over at alternatehistory.com (where we have a lively Star Wars discussion thread going). This information is now certainly outdated, but the overall picture it paints remains (I believe) quite accurate. So I figured that this, too, ought to be among the things to be re-posted over here...
The most commonly cited website in this context is RottenTomatoes, whose rating system is actually quite deceptive to the untrained eye. In determining whether a film is 'fresh' or 'rotten', the site actually looks at the percentage of people (both professional critics and audience members, in separate categories) rate the film as above average or below average. The actual rating is not considered. If 100% of all audience members were to rate a film as slightly above average, the film would be deemed "100% fresh". If 80% of the audience members give a film full marks, and 20% rate the film as slightly below average, then it gets "80% fresh". This in spite of the fact that the average rating for the second film would be far higher than the that of the first film.
Fortunately, RottenTomatoes allows us to check for more information, and to see the average rating that both critics and audience members gave to each film, as well as the exact number of critics and audience members that are taken into consideration. The website Metacritic gives us the same information (in both categories), as does IMDB (for audience ratings only). This information allows us to compare the numbers that we get on these prominent websites. In turn, this will let us determine a fairly good estimate of the critical and popular reception to each Star Wars film.
Some clarifying notes
— This analysis is concerned exclusively with the nine films that comprise the 'main saga'. Other films (such as Rogue One, Solo and The Clone Wars) are left out of consideration.
— The data used here has been collected on 31/12/2019, with one exception (namely the RottenTomatoes numbers for RotS, which are evidently corrupted as of September 2010, and therefore worthless).
— All ratings have been converted to percentile scores for ease of comparison. (Sites rate various things by varying standards, such as [x]/5, [x]/10 and [x]/100. All those are easily converted to [x]/100, and that has been done here.)
— In establishing average ratings based on those accrued from multiple sites, the differing numbers of reviews coming from each site has obviously been taken into account, so as not to skew the cumulative averages by weighing those based on fewer reviews as heavily as those based on more reviews.
— RottenTomatoes has switched to showing 'verified audience' scores prominently for TRoS, but has used 'all audience' for all previous Star Wars films. Here, the 'all audience' is used as a point of reference for TRoS as well, since suddenly changing the benchmarks for one film in the series would be intellectually dishonest.
— There is the concern that the RottenTomatoes audience score for TRoS is being manipulated, because the 'verified audience' score has continuously remained at exactly 86% for quite some time, in spite of a vastly increasing number of audience ratings over that same period. Such stability is statistically near-impossible. The 'all audience' score has fluctuated somewhat, which makes that score for more plausible as a realistic indicator.
— The RottenTomatoes audience score for RotS has been unquestionably manipulated as of 2010, when the number of audience ratings suddenly changed from 1.198.824 (yielding a score of 85%) to over 33 million, resulting in a score of 66%. (Yeah, "execute order 66".) RottenTomatoes has done nothing to correct this, and as such, I've used the last reliable score for RotJ (from 2010) instead of the December 31st 2019 score.
— The score for TRoS is not yet definitive, and may still need time to 'settle' a bit. (That being said, the current numbers are almost certainly a decent indication, and dramatic changes are not to be expected.)
In the following overviews, you will find the number of critics and audience members that were taken into consideration, bracketed behind the average score that these groups of people awarded to each film.
There are some observations to be made here:
— The listing based on the average critics' view and the average audience view differ drastically. In fact, the only thing both agree on is that RotS gets fifth place. Even the average ratings (75% and 72,2%) are relatively close together. On the ranking of every other Star Wars film, the critics and the audiences disagree.
— On the other hand, ranking doesn't say everything. Both audiences and critics rate AotC rather poorly, and the difference between the rankings is a mere 0,6 points. Similarly, they both rate ANH highly, and the difference is a mere 0,3 points. (In both cases, the critics are slightly more positive.) Other modest differences are seen in the fact that audiences rate RotS 2,8 points higher than critics do, and critics rate TFA 2,4 points higher than audiences do.
— A more significant difference is seen in the fact that audiences rate ESB 7,3 points higher than critics do. This also results in ANH beating out ESB for first place when it comes to the critics' ranking. Among audiences, ESB is and remains the undisputed favourite. This reflects the somewhat mixed critical reception ESB received upon release (paraphrased as "good but not as good as the previous one"), while it won the People's Choice Award.
— TPM is similarly better-loved by audiences than by critics. Neither group rates the film very highly, but the public enjoys it a lot more than the critics do: to the tune of a 9,9 point difference.
— The really big differences between critical and popular opinion are reserved for RotJ, TLJ and TRoS. Audiences like TRoS a lot more than critics (a 13,2 point difference), signifying the difference between a sub-par film (in the critics' opinion) and an okay one (in the public opinion). The differences between the respective ratings for RotJ and TLJ are ever more significant, and almost seem to mirror each other. Audiences like RotJ 16,3 points more, signifying the difference between a serviceable film (in the critics' opinion) and a great one (in the public opinion). In turn, critics like TLJ a lot more than audiences, with a difference of 16,4 points. That signifies the difference between a poor film (in the public opinion) and a good one (in the critics' opinion).
— Much as the impression is created that critics love TLJ unconditionally, this is partially a result of the skewed impression that the RottenTomatoes system imparts. Critics, on average, rate TLJ in fourth place, behind ANH, ESB and... TFA. TLJ was the subject of more heated debate, and thus got a lot of the attention in this regard, but TFA was actually a bit more highly esteemed by the critics.
—The oft-heard claim that TLJ's detractors are merely a small minority can be definitively put to rest. Audience members, on average, rate TLJ the lowest of all Star Wars films. This is not a film that was well-received by a majority and hated by a very vocal minority. In fact, the opposite seems to be somewhat more accurate.
— That being said, the average audience score for TLJ is still 65 out of a 100 possible points. Despite it being the most poorly-received main saga Star Wars film among audience members, the verdict is still above average in a general sense.
— On that note: the childish phrase "nobody hates Star Wars like a Star Wars fan" is also pretty clearly disproven. Audience members are, on average, more positive in their ratings of the films than professional critics. The lowest and the highest average rating that audiences bestow on these films are both higher than the equivalents awarded by critics.
None of this in any way proves who is "right" or "wrong" about any of these films. What your opinion is, and/or whose verdict you trust, is your business. (I can only say that I, for one, disagree with both the audience ranking and the critics' ranking on various points.) This overviews mainly shows what the average opinions of critics and audience members are, and in what ways they differ from each other. It also corrects a few stubborn misconceptions. I hope it can help to shed a little light on the actual reception, among audience members and professional critics, of the various Star Wars films.
The most commonly cited website in this context is RottenTomatoes, whose rating system is actually quite deceptive to the untrained eye. In determining whether a film is 'fresh' or 'rotten', the site actually looks at the percentage of people (both professional critics and audience members, in separate categories) rate the film as above average or below average. The actual rating is not considered. If 100% of all audience members were to rate a film as slightly above average, the film would be deemed "100% fresh". If 80% of the audience members give a film full marks, and 20% rate the film as slightly below average, then it gets "80% fresh". This in spite of the fact that the average rating for the second film would be far higher than the that of the first film.
Fortunately, RottenTomatoes allows us to check for more information, and to see the average rating that both critics and audience members gave to each film, as well as the exact number of critics and audience members that are taken into consideration. The website Metacritic gives us the same information (in both categories), as does IMDB (for audience ratings only). This information allows us to compare the numbers that we get on these prominent websites. In turn, this will let us determine a fairly good estimate of the critical and popular reception to each Star Wars film.
Some clarifying notes
— This analysis is concerned exclusively with the nine films that comprise the 'main saga'. Other films (such as Rogue One, Solo and The Clone Wars) are left out of consideration.
— The data used here has been collected on 31/12/2019, with one exception (namely the RottenTomatoes numbers for RotS, which are evidently corrupted as of September 2010, and therefore worthless).
— All ratings have been converted to percentile scores for ease of comparison. (Sites rate various things by varying standards, such as [x]/5, [x]/10 and [x]/100. All those are easily converted to [x]/100, and that has been done here.)
— In establishing average ratings based on those accrued from multiple sites, the differing numbers of reviews coming from each site has obviously been taken into account, so as not to skew the cumulative averages by weighing those based on fewer reviews as heavily as those based on more reviews.
— RottenTomatoes has switched to showing 'verified audience' scores prominently for TRoS, but has used 'all audience' for all previous Star Wars films. Here, the 'all audience' is used as a point of reference for TRoS as well, since suddenly changing the benchmarks for one film in the series would be intellectually dishonest.
— There is the concern that the RottenTomatoes audience score for TRoS is being manipulated, because the 'verified audience' score has continuously remained at exactly 86% for quite some time, in spite of a vastly increasing number of audience ratings over that same period. Such stability is statistically near-impossible. The 'all audience' score has fluctuated somewhat, which makes that score for more plausible as a realistic indicator.
— The RottenTomatoes audience score for RotS has been unquestionably manipulated as of 2010, when the number of audience ratings suddenly changed from 1.198.824 (yielding a score of 85%) to over 33 million, resulting in a score of 66%. (Yeah, "execute order 66".) RottenTomatoes has done nothing to correct this, and as such, I've used the last reliable score for RotJ (from 2010) instead of the December 31st 2019 score.
— The score for TRoS is not yet definitive, and may still need time to 'settle' a bit. (That being said, the current numbers are almost certainly a decent indication, and dramatic changes are not to be expected.)
In the following overviews, you will find the number of critics and audience members that were taken into consideration, bracketed behind the average score that these groups of people awarded to each film.
There are some observations to be made here:
— The listing based on the average critics' view and the average audience view differ drastically. In fact, the only thing both agree on is that RotS gets fifth place. Even the average ratings (75% and 72,2%) are relatively close together. On the ranking of every other Star Wars film, the critics and the audiences disagree.
— On the other hand, ranking doesn't say everything. Both audiences and critics rate AotC rather poorly, and the difference between the rankings is a mere 0,6 points. Similarly, they both rate ANH highly, and the difference is a mere 0,3 points. (In both cases, the critics are slightly more positive.) Other modest differences are seen in the fact that audiences rate RotS 2,8 points higher than critics do, and critics rate TFA 2,4 points higher than audiences do.
— A more significant difference is seen in the fact that audiences rate ESB 7,3 points higher than critics do. This also results in ANH beating out ESB for first place when it comes to the critics' ranking. Among audiences, ESB is and remains the undisputed favourite. This reflects the somewhat mixed critical reception ESB received upon release (paraphrased as "good but not as good as the previous one"), while it won the People's Choice Award.
— TPM is similarly better-loved by audiences than by critics. Neither group rates the film very highly, but the public enjoys it a lot more than the critics do: to the tune of a 9,9 point difference.
— The really big differences between critical and popular opinion are reserved for RotJ, TLJ and TRoS. Audiences like TRoS a lot more than critics (a 13,2 point difference), signifying the difference between a sub-par film (in the critics' opinion) and an okay one (in the public opinion). The differences between the respective ratings for RotJ and TLJ are ever more significant, and almost seem to mirror each other. Audiences like RotJ 16,3 points more, signifying the difference between a serviceable film (in the critics' opinion) and a great one (in the public opinion). In turn, critics like TLJ a lot more than audiences, with a difference of 16,4 points. That signifies the difference between a poor film (in the public opinion) and a good one (in the critics' opinion).
— Much as the impression is created that critics love TLJ unconditionally, this is partially a result of the skewed impression that the RottenTomatoes system imparts. Critics, on average, rate TLJ in fourth place, behind ANH, ESB and... TFA. TLJ was the subject of more heated debate, and thus got a lot of the attention in this regard, but TFA was actually a bit more highly esteemed by the critics.
—The oft-heard claim that TLJ's detractors are merely a small minority can be definitively put to rest. Audience members, on average, rate TLJ the lowest of all Star Wars films. This is not a film that was well-received by a majority and hated by a very vocal minority. In fact, the opposite seems to be somewhat more accurate.
— That being said, the average audience score for TLJ is still 65 out of a 100 possible points. Despite it being the most poorly-received main saga Star Wars film among audience members, the verdict is still above average in a general sense.
— On that note: the childish phrase "nobody hates Star Wars like a Star Wars fan" is also pretty clearly disproven. Audience members are, on average, more positive in their ratings of the films than professional critics. The lowest and the highest average rating that audiences bestow on these films are both higher than the equivalents awarded by critics.
None of this in any way proves who is "right" or "wrong" about any of these films. What your opinion is, and/or whose verdict you trust, is your business. (I can only say that I, for one, disagree with both the audience ranking and the critics' ranking on various points.) This overviews mainly shows what the average opinions of critics and audience members are, and in what ways they differ from each other. It also corrects a few stubborn misconceptions. I hope it can help to shed a little light on the actual reception, among audience members and professional critics, of the various Star Wars films.
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