Rotten Tomatoes is a place for film-goers to scope out the potential of an upcoming film, or to immerse themselves in the opinions of film critics commenting on specific movies. Critics and audiences alike can congregate there and give their two cents on a film, allowing the site to create aggregate percentages of people recommending the movie to readers. Star Wars, perhaps the world's biggest franchise has performed to a mixed set of reviews on the 'Tomatometer', with its audience score differing hugely in some cases. Here are all Star Wars films ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes audience score.
Note that The Clone Wars film will not have an entry, but it was the lowest of both the audience (39%) and critics (18%) scores.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Last Jedi - 44%
Not to everyone's taste, to say the least, The Last Jedi experienced a bombardment of fan disapproval from wider audiences. While the critical score sits at a great 91%, the audience score reflects half of a fanbase who felt robbed by the film.
Pointing fingers to Luke's character arc and Leia's floating through space scene, a lot of fans feel it just was not Star Wars even despite a lot of its cinematic brilliance. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and those opinions have came to fruition with The Last Jedi being by far the most divisive film of the franchise and have inspired a lot of toxicity.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones - 56%
An undoubtedly worse made film than the above entry, Attack Of The Clones unsurprisingly falls low on the list. While there are many a fan of the prequels, there is no denying a lot of lackluster filmmaking in the trilogy. Never was this more easily seen than in Attack Of The Clones, with lackluster performances delivering cringe-worthy dialogue.
The film, of course, has its positives such as the stunning score, lightsaber battles and it is the starting point for The Clone Wars, one of Star Wars' greatest achievements. However, as reflected in the below-average 56%, fans are either in the camp of it is a poor film or it is Star Wars so they love it, but still not a very well made film.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - 59%
Below Attack Of The Clones in the critical score but scraping above it in the audience view, The Phantom Menace suffers from the same issues as its successor. Throw in fan favorites such as midi-chlorians and the valiantly acted Jar Jar Binks and the film just does not connect with a lot of audiences well.
Poor audience score does not change colossal box office numbers nor people's fanatic love for the franchise to this day. However, it is safe to say the prequel era of Star Wars got off to a rocky start with this film to which a minority to this day cut out of their viewing habits.
Solo: A Star Wars Story - 63%
Flawed yet fun, and harmed with poor marketing and awful timing as well as a general sense of unnecessity massively hurt Solo: A Star Wars Story. Nonsensically being put out in May rather than December, as well as competing with Avengers: Infinity War at the box office, the film did not stand a chance.
The film is fast-paced with a lot of fanfare, and a fantastic performance from Donald Glover but is mostly unmemorable and unfortunately is the lowest-performing film of the franchise. With a critical score 7% nicer than audiences, it seems in agreement that this film was harmed by factors out of its control but is ultimately a fun ride.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith - 66%
Next with a surprisingly low score is the undeniably best film of the prequel trilogy Revenge Of The Sith. Fantastic performances by Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid carry this film along with its darker themes, harrowing moments, perhaps Star Wars' greatest lightsaber battle and John Williams.
The film got to 80% with critics due to these factors but it appears a lot of voters still have issues with the prequels with only 66% recommending the film. Revenge Of The Sith is a pivotal point in the lore of the Star Wars universe and is a favorite of many fans, deserving a higher percentage than the - as Chancellor Palpatine would say - ironic, 66.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - 86%
The first of Disney's standalone Star Wars films were a hit. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was great in its ability to simply be a war film that happened to be set in the Star Wars universe. While it was hard creating a deep connection to the new characters they were still intriguing if not great - or hilarious like K-2S0.
The film performed well at the box office as well as being a good hit with critics, with audiences sharing a similar sentiment. It was a fresh narrative and direction for the franchise and showed the potential of future standalone projects. Its third act alone is one of Star Wars' best acts, even if the film is not that quality throughout.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens - 86%
Joint with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in its audience score, but being placed higher based on having over 100,000 more votes and a 9% higher Tomatometer score of 93% - the joint second highest of the Star Wars series - comes The Force Awakens. Disney's first entry into the Star Wars filmography was one that was both great and unbelievably successful.
Still the highest-grossing film domestically, the film gave fans a blend of familiarity and introductions to a new era of characters. There were complaints of its blatant similarity to A New Hope, however, apart from that, it delivered a gut-punch of nostalgia, gorgeous visuals, great acting and left fans wanting more.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi - 94%
The film with the third-highest audience score despite having only the sixth-highest Tomatometer is the final part of the original trilogy. While adored by fans, it arguably suffers from having a second Death Star and not having as compelling a narrative as its predecessors. However, it is a satisfying and fitting end to the trilogy and overall is a great film.
The first two Star Wars releases were two of the very highest standards so Return Of The Jedi had an impossible task which it does its best to accomplish. The final battle with Luke and Vader is electric and Ian McDiarmid is phenomenal, overall the film is great and will forever be adored by Star Wars fans, even if not as critically adored.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - 96%
The film that kicked it all off, A New Hope is one of the most important and influential films in cinema. It built on what Jaws achieved, breaking box office records and changing cinema as it kicked off an era of blockbuster cinema as well as one of the world's biggest phenomena.
Out with that but, fantastic set-pieces, beautiful music, amazing characters, and a brilliant story make this one of Star Wars' best. From the binary sunset shot to the score to Han Solo, it is, for what it is, a perfect film. It has been and will continue to be adored for generations as a fantasy space opera and if Rotten Tomatoes is anything to go by that is evident.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - 97%
As unbelievable as A New Hope is though, it most of the time comes a close second to one of the greatest sequels of all time. The Empire Strikes Back is a phenomenon in its own right. It is often at the top of people's list and will be remembered along forever with A New Hope and Return Of The Jedi as the incomparable original trilogy.
The big battle kicks off the film rather than being in its finale, the character development is gorgeous to watch, the acting is unreal, the shots are gorgeous and the twist is historic. From the opening Battle Of Hoth to the ending battle with Vader and Luke, the film is a masterpiece and fans know it.