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[Umbasaborne]

Rotten tomatoe scores have become a big deal in the block buster film industry. So much so that the site treats the “reveal” of a movies fresh or rotten status as big unveiling. Did this emphasis on rotten-tomato scores come from marvel and dc fans using the film scores as ammunition in whatever fan boy war they are fighting? Or was it always relevant, and i didn’t notice it as much before?

 

[teezzy]

Paying attention to critics in general seems silly. It's all drivel for people with a lack of strong personal preference. Personally, I'm a sucker for horror movies, arthouse fluff, and Oscar-bait. Tick all three boxes, toss in some hot women, and I'll likely champion it as my favorite movie of the year - regardless of what the critics' think. If people are numb enough to continuously gobble up the latest focus-tested blockbusters, then yes, they can utilize Rotten Tomatoes as an aggregate and representation of quality as well.

The best movies tend to be those that are more divisive, imho.

 

[DKehoe]

I feel like RT scores have been a thing people paid attention to long before the Marvel/DC stuff.

 

[AJUMP23]

It was just the first big ratings aggregator that people paid attention to. Then when fans looked at it, the studios started using it in advertising.

 

[scoobidoo112]

The best movies tend to be those that are more divisive, imho.

Out of curiosity, what are some movies that had a mixed reception that you consider to be 'the best'?

FIrst ones that came to my mind are Hereditary, Midsommar and The Lodge. I remember sitting in the theater, absolutely loving these movies, whilst the audience around me was loudly laughing and proclaiming how terrible they were. Definitely made me realize that general audiences tend to like in-your-face, jump-scary movies, rather than deeply unsettling and disturbing movies that require you to pay attention to the details.

As for RottenTomatoes, I think it always mattered to a degree, but it was the release of The Last Jedi and Captain Marvel that really turned it into a battleground of ideologies, where if the score didn't match someone's personal opinion, it was 'brigaded' and 'fake' and an indicator of someone's political beliefs. Been a mess ever since.

Those two films and the critical reception to "Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones" made me realize that RottenTomatoes should not be taken too seriously. Overall it can be an indicator of quality, especially the audience score, but above all you should make up your own mind.

 

[Umbasaborne]

Out of curiosity, what are some movies that had a mixed reception that you consider to be 'the best'?

FIrst ones that came to my mind are Hereditary, Midsommar and The Lodge. I remember sitting in the theater, absolutely loving these movies, whilst the audience around me was loudly laughing and proclaiming how terrible they were. Definitely made me realize that general audiences tend to like in-your-face, jump-scary movies, rather than deeply unsettling and disturbing movies that require you to pay attention to the details.

As for RottenTomatoes, I think it always mattered to a degree, but it was the release of The Last Jedi and Captain Marvel that really turned it into a battleground of ideologies, where if the score didn't match someone's personal opinion, it was 'brigaded' and 'fake' and an indicator of someone's political beliefs. Been a mess ever since.

Those two films and the critical reception to "Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones" made me realize that RottenTomatoes should not be taken too seriously. Overall it can be an indicator of quality, especially the audience score, but above all you should make up your own mind.

For sure. The discourse around those movies became so toxic, i didnt love them
But didn’t hate them either. I was legitimatley called a bigot by someone once for saying i didnt love the last jedi lmao. Now im pretty liberal, but yeah, the people implying folks were racists for disliking the last jedi were incredibly out of line

 

[IntentionalPun]

No; the interesting thing about the internet is that it was created by nerds and initially almost exclusively used by nerds, for a long ass time.

Gaming and movies have been 2 of the biggest things on the internet since before normies started ending their future presidencies on Twitter.

 

[teezzy]

Out of curiosity, what are some movies that had a mixed reception that you consider to be 'the best'?

FIrst ones that came to my mind are Hereditary, Midsommar and The Lodge. I remember sitting in the theater, absolutely loving these movies, whilst the audience around me was loudly laughing and proclaiming how terrible they were. Definitely made me realize that general audiences tend to like in-your-face, jump-scary movies, rather than deeply unsettling and disturbing movies that require you to pay attention to the details.

As for RottenTomatoes, I think it always mattered to a degree, but it was the release of The Last Jedi and Captain Marvel that really turned it into a battleground of ideologies, where if the score didn't match someone's personal opinion, it was 'brigaded' and 'fake' and an indicator of someone's political beliefs. Been a mess ever since.

Those two films and the critical reception to "Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones" made me realize that RottenTomatoes should not be taken too seriously. Overall it can be an indicator of quality, especially the audience score, but above all you should make up your own mind.

 

[99Luffy]

I think gamers can be blamed. The emphasis on gamerankings scores transferred over to the movie industry.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

RT predates Marvel/DC films IIRC. It gained popularity due to being one of the first review aggregators. The rotten/fresh scale is also really easy to understand, for most people, which I think was critical to their success. Less is more.

 

[Fbh]

I think movie studios like it and make a big deal out of it because it's "easier" to have a high score.
Since it's not based on actual scores but rather if a movie is getting a positive or negative review, it's possible to have an impressive rotten tomatoes score without the actual reviews being quite as impressive.

Look at Avengers endgame. What sounds better?:
"Avengers End Game: certified fresh with a 94% rating on rotten tomatoes!!!"
Or
"Avengers End Game: Officially above average with a 78 metascore!"

 

[SF Kosmo]

No, I don't think so. For one, I don't think they ARE a big deal in terms of influencer ng people's viewing habits. Often you look at the top 10 movies at any given time and like 2 are Fresh.

But also RT was already pretty popular before the MCU.

 

[teezzy]

Out of curiosity, what are some movies that had a mixed reception that you consider to be 'the best'?

FIrst ones that came to my mind are Hereditary, Midsommar and The Lodge. I remember sitting in the theater, absolutely loving these movies, whilst the audience around me was loudly laughing and proclaiming how terrible they were. Definitely made me realize that general audiences tend to like in-your-face, jump-scary movies, rather than deeply unsettling and disturbing movies that require you to pay attention to the details.

As for RottenTomatoes, I think it always mattered to a degree, but it was the release of The Last Jedi and Captain Marvel that really turned it into a battleground of ideologies, where if the score didn't match someone's personal opinion, it was 'brigaded' and 'fake' and an indicator of someone's political beliefs. Been a mess ever since.

Those two films and the critical reception to "Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones" made me realize that RottenTomatoes should not be taken too seriously. Overall it can be an indicator of quality, especially the audience score, but above all you should make up your own mind.

Freddy Got Fingered aside, as much as I treasure that movie - I don't know man, thinking of more modern movies... top of my head...

Spring Breakers, Neon Demon, Horse Girl, Mother!, Under the Skin, Trance, The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers, Lights Out, The Boy, The Eyes of My Mother, Ender's Game, Pacific Rim, Knock Knock, Jupiter Ascending, Death Proof, Silent Hill, I Know Who Killed Me, The Virgin Suicides, Jersey Girl, Broken Flowers, The Accountant, Serenity, Crimson Peak, Seed of Chucky, A Rainy Day in New York...

Not entirely sure where all these land on the Tomatometer, but I'm assuming some fared better than others. I could see each one of these being divisive, but I had a blast with each! Clearly boils down to personal taste, and what interests me personally, but I really couldn't be less interested in what most critics think, and I say this as a film school nerd.

Just like how I hold Last Jedi and Force Awakens right below A New Hope and Empire when it comes to my favorite Star Wars movies... and loathed Rogue One. Forum nerds be damned: I have my own tastes, and am very well in tune with what I enjoy. Doesn't matter to me if others disagree, especially not some stuffy-ass critics or basement dwellers.

Heck, then I'll watch some critical darling like Inception or Avatar or The Artist or even Citizen Kane and be bored to tears.

Fuck other peoples' opinions tbh

 

[manfestival]

I used Rotten Tomatoes long before the Marvel/DC thing was a thing. It was always a decent indicator(still is) of the general appeal of a movie. Also sometimes let's me know if the critics got it wrong or to see if I even care about the main complaints coming from the critics.

 

[BadBurger]

My older brother tells me people were using Rotten Tomatoes as an aggregator way back before the internet was even a thing (like BBS or some shit?), and it was the pretty much the first site of its kind once the internet took off - like early 2000's.

Myself, I never even bothered with another aggregator of its kind until Metacritic in the 2010's.

 

[Reality Czar]

It's vertically integrated marketing. The same company that owns Rotten Tomatoes is in the business of selling movie tickets. Fandango. Which itself is owned by Comcast-NBC-Universal.

Basically another MSM echo chamber where they are desperately and failing to control the narrative by trying to force it.

 

[teezzy]

I'm not entirely sure how possible it is for art to appeal to the masses yet be simultaneously challenging and transgressive and especiallygeared towards those more invested in the medium.

 

[zeorhymer]

RT became a mouthpiece once Disney bought them. It was apparent when all of a sudden users couldn't say anything about Captain Marvel. Then you saw it with the locked review scores for Rise of Skywalker. Sure the critics are bought and paid for, but when you start controlling the customers, it's pretty much meaningless.

 

[teezzy]

It's funny that the DC movies tend to score lower on RT than the Marvel ones. Guardians of the Galaxy and Winter Soldier aside, I've always largely preferred the DC movies, from what I've seen

I'm an Arrowverse man at heart

 

[GardenOfAbbylon]

I never understood at any point in time why anyone gives two shits about what Rotten Tomatoes says.

 

[NeoGiffer]