Star Wars: The Last Jedi has officially been Certified Fresh by review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. Earlier this year, the website stirred up a considerable amount of controversy when they intentionally withheld the reveal of Justice League's Tomatometer rating, but there were no such shenanigans for the galaxy far, far away. As the long-awaited Last Jedi review embargo finally lifted today (December 12), the film's Rotten Tomatoes score became known to the general public, further generating hype for what was arguably 2017's biggest release. Critics have sung the praises of the ensemble and Johnson's surprising, twisty narrative - among other elements.
Episode VIII being an acclaimed installment in the long-running franchise continues Lucasfilm's hot streak in their Disney era. Both The Force Awakens and Rogue One were well-received by fans and critics alike, so it's nice to see Rian Johnson was able to keep the forward momentum going with his film. Based on the responses, the Looper helmsman made arguably one of the finest Star Wars films yet, and fans can't wait to see what all the buzz is about.
Rating: Lucasfilm is Very Confident in the Last Jedi
As if moviegoers needed another reason to get excited for this weekend, Rotten Tomatoes has bestowed their coveted Certified Fresh rating to The Last Jedi. Currently, the site has collected a total of 137 reviews, 128 of which are positive. This means the Tomatometer score is a sterling 93 percent, which matches The Force Awakens and A New Hope as the second-highest rating in the franchise. The Empire Strikes Back, for many the gold standard of Star Wars, sits as the best with 94 percent. Since reviews are still coming in, the Last Jedi score could fluctuate over the next few days, but this is the ballpark it'll be in.
Perhaps what's more important is Last Jedi's average rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is 8.3/10 as of this writing. That metric is more indicative of a film's quality, as the basic Tomatometer is just a simple "positive/negative" scale. The average rating takes into account all actual review scores, meaning many people thought very highly of Episode VIII. Force Awakens ended up at 8.2/10 and Rogue One was 7.5/10, so by any figure, The Last Jedi stands as the best-reviewed movie from the Disney era. Both A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back have higher average ratings than The Last Jedi, though there is a considerable difference in the amount of total reviews those three films have listed on Rotten Tomatoes. Empire, for instance, has only 89.
When Lucasfilm made the bombshell announcement Johnson was developing an all-new Star Wars trilogy last month, it was the first sign The Last Jedi was something truly special. Now that there are an abundance of social media reactions and full reviews to sift through, fans can rest easy knowing Johnson knocked Episode VIII out of the park. With the consensus the way it is, many people can enter the theater with peace of mind, knowing they're about to experience a thrilling and emotionally-satisfying chapter of the Skywalker saga.
MORE: Read Screen Rant's The Last Jedi Review
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
