Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

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MontyCircus
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Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by MontyCircus »

Just got this in my inbox, the Criticker Personal Update which says:

"Criticker users are united in praise for Rogue One, which makes us wonder about the film's lukewarm critical reception."

The critics say Rogue One is a Top 20 movie of the year.

Let me explain.

I'm sure you're all aware of the IMDB 10-point scale? Imagine if that was reduced from a 10-point scale to a 2-point scale, fresh or rotten. What would happen? You lose information. The difference between a good movie and a great movie gets confused.

Same thing with RottenTomatoes. The Tomatometer percentage score isn't as useful as the "Average Rating". Rogue One has a 7.5 Average Rating, which puts it in the Top 20 reviewed movies of the year.

Quick RottenTomatoes "Average Rating" guide (based on 2015's scores, assuming they are representative):

6.5 = Top 40 of the year
7.0 = Top 30 of the year
7.5 = Top 20 of the year
8.0 = Top 10 of the year
8.5 = Top 5 of the year
9.0 = Best Movie of the year

djross
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by djross »

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Last edited by djross on Thu Jul 20, 2023 11:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

MontyCircus
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by MontyCircus »

I just saw it tonight and thought it was alright but nothing special. But my point is not to say that Rogue One is great, but that to say the critics didn't love it is incorrect.

To give an example, do you recall last year's "Straight Outta Compton"? It was a critics' darling yes? Award show buzz yes?

On RottenTomatoes It got a 7.3 Average Rating, lower than "Rogue One"'s 7.5. And "Rogue One" has more reviews which means it has an even more impressive Bayesian Average rating, if you want to get technical.

Filligan
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by Filligan »

djross wrote:Any method of critical evaluation that determines the most recent Stars Wars product to be among the best movies of the year has been corrupted from any fidelity to genuine aesthetic judgment.


Good lord, every time I peek back into these forums, I'm reminded of why I stopped frequenting them.

paulofilmo
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by paulofilmo »

:D

I'm interested because it's directed by the guy who made Monsters, a Before Sunrise/Jurassic Park mash-up that punches well above its weight.

although he went on to do godzilla, and is probably a megalomaniac at this point

djross
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by djross »

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Last edited by djross on Thu Jul 20, 2023 11:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

Velvet Crowe
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by Velvet Crowe »

Neil Breen with a budget would be one of the most entertaining things ever, I don't think anyone here could deny that.

90sCoffee
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by 90sCoffee »

Letterboxd, RateYourMusic, imdb, and Criticker should all be used before assessing a film's ratings before relying on Rotten Tomatoes.

Also, use the Greasemonkey script for Criticker posted on the last post of this thread: viewtopic.php?f=10&p=58661#p58661

Velvet Crowe
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by Velvet Crowe »

Having just seen the movie, I can say for a fact that it's not very good. It doesn't surprise me that Rotten Tomatoes wasn't particularly favorable towards given how it was even blander than what VII was.

Suture Self
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Re: Rogue One Critical Reception (and How to Use RottenTomatoes)

Post by Suture Self »

djross wrote:Any method of critical evaluation that determines the most recent Stars Wars product to be among the best movies of the year has been corrupted from any fidelity to genuine aesthetic judgment.

I'm not sure if you'd actually like the film, but Rogue One is different than other Star Wars movies in several ways. It's still a fairy tale for kids, but I found it more grounded and focused on ordinary people than other films in the series, and it's all the better for it.

Another fascinating thing about it is that the American right, especially the far right, seems to hate it, whereas publications like Jacobin, one of the leading socialist publications in America, are writing positive reviews: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/12/rogu ... lion-left/.

For better or worse, it's become a peculiar flashpoint issue in American movie criticism and I'd say it's worth checking out for that reason alone. Those that are inclined to look at it as a film in isolation, like Richard Brody and A.O. Scott, have written negative reviews, and their criticisms are valid. But I think when you look at the film within the context of modern American politics, it's unusually brazen for a blockbuster.

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