The review embargo is now lifted for Solo: A Star Wars Story, with the Han Solo Star Wars film coming in fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Much like Donald Glover, Solo: A Star Wars Story comes in so fresh and so clean (clean) in the initial critic rankings on Rotten Tomatoes. As of the afternoon of May 15, Solo: A Star Wars Story is sporting a fresh 74 percent among critics, off the bat.
Is this also a good sign for the film’s upcoming reception by the general public? Not necessarily. Star Wars: The Last Jedi proves that fans and media have as much separation as the Dark Side of the Force does with the Light — we’ll let you figure out which of the two groups are the embodiment of evil.
Let’s take a look at the differences between the fan response and those who get paid to review films on Rotten Tomatoes — specifically Star Wars live-action movies in this case. We’ll list these Star Wars films in order of release date.
- Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) — Fan Score: 96 percent. Critics score: 93 percent
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) — Fan Score: 95 percent. Critics score: 97 percent
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)– Fan Score: 94 percent. Critics score: 80 percent
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999) — Fan Score: 59 percent. Critics score: 55 percent
- Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) — Fan Score: 57 percent. Critics score: 66 percent
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005) — Fan Score: 65 percent. Critics score: 79 percent
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) — Fan Score: 88 percent. Critics score: 93 percent
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) — Fan Score: 87 percent. Critics score: 85 percent
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) — Fan Score: 47 percent. Critics score: 91 percent
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) — Fan Score: TBD. Critics score: 74 percent
More from Dork Side of the Force
- Daniel José Older named a High Republic Adventures character after someone special
- How animation changed Star Wars: Ewoks and Droids
- Kelleran Beq comes to Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
- The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal becomes No. 1 on IMDb’s Starmeter for 2023
- Unwrapping the Star Wars LEGO Advent Calendar: Day 7
Generally, the consensus across the board between the amateur fandom in comparison to the “pros” is somewhat close, with The Last Jedi leaving the most significant between the two groups (44).
Plus, there’s a probability that the fan score is going to be skewed a bit, not as trustworthy as what the paid professionals side of the coin, due to the credibility of the voting system.
The critics score for Solo: A Star Wars Story is rather low, but first, with the review embargo lifted only this afternoon, the number could shift a bit one way or another. What does this mean in terms of what to expect from the film?
Honestly, not much. I would rely on critics from times past that you can trust and track down their individual reviews. Nevertheless, we are getting another Star Wars movie and we cannot complain at all about more stories within a galaxy, far far away.
Next: Star Wars and politics have always gone hand in hand
For most of us, Solo: A Star Wars Story debuts in theatres May 25, 2018.