Critics and audiences don’t always agree on a film or show’s quality. But now, division among critics and general audiences is a very common sight to behold on aggregate sites such as Rotten Tomatoes.
In recent years, it has been quite easy for even casual audiences to pick up on this trend. So what exactly is causing this pre-existing divide to become so much more common?
Taking a closer look at specific instances of critic and audience divide may prove useful in figuring out several things. Firstly, why this divide exists, which side of the conversation (if any) is more valuable, and lastly, how you can form judgements on what is worth watching.
The first time I noticed this phenomena was with one specific movie. And it was a film that had general audiences enraptured, while critics remained skeptical.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie – Audiences In Love, Critics In Question
In April of 2023, this movie saw a massive release as part of an interesting trend in the film industry at the time. The resurgence of video game movies. In the past, most of these films were complete failures. Mario as a franchise is all too familiar with botched films due to the failed 1993 movie based on the popular game series.
But unlike that film, which opted for live-action costumes and practical effects to represent Mario’s iconic characters, this one utilized Illumination’s animation to bring characters to life without the uncanniness. Sounds great right? General audiences would agree, as the film is rated at a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some Rotten Tomatoes users commended the film’s use of “details and references to games” and “Easter eggs” for fans, or the ability of the film to be enjoyed by families and children. Despite the glowing reviews from audiences, some critics on the same site claim the movie is “overstimulating” or “the laziest possible version” of a potential Mario movie. Others praised the animation and loyalty to the source material, but decry the lack of any interesting story utilizing the material.
Here the divide between critics and audience is pretty clear-cut. Some critics acknowledge the factors that make this film great for the general audiences that seem to love it. Yet the critics themselves do not seem impressed for the most part. The audience that loves the film seem very happy to finally get a fully animated adaptation of their favorite video game character. But what about a film that isn’t an adaptation, but a sequel? That brings us to…
Despicable Me 4 – An Unprecedented Split
Oh, what a coincidence, two Illumination movies back to back. I swear this was unintentional, but it seems Illumination’s recent films serve as a great case study for this phenomena.
The recent animated flick also has a divide between critics and audiences, as critics are split almost down the middle with a 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and most audiences seeming to like the film with a score of 88%. And just like the aforementioned Mario movie, there is a possibly similar reason for this divide.
Perhaps some of this boils down to a difference between priorities. Critics may prioritize objective qualities such as animation, editing, target audience, etc. Which means critics may be less receptive to things that audiences prioritize. In this case, the positive audience reviews are happy to see returning and new characters and revel in the film’s chaotic jokes and family friendly nature.
But what makes this situation unprecedented is that in previous installments of the Despicable Me franchise often have a much lower divide. This is the case for Despicable Me 3 which both critics and audiences feel mixed on, and the first two installments which have a favorable reputation with both critics and general audiences.
So it seems that this trend is new, at least new or more polarizing in regards to Illumination’s animated films. But what I find even more interesting to grapple with, is when the critics love something yet the audiences don’t. For that, I want to take a look at a very recent series under Disney’s ownership.
Star Wars: The Acolyte (Season 1) – Not The First Time For Star Wars
This recent series marks the continuation of an ongoing trend in some Disney’s Star Wars offerings. That trend being a split between critic and audience ratings.
On Rotten Tomatoes, The Acolyte currently sits at a solid 80% rating with critics but a paltry 17% with audiences. This particular case with The Acolyte mirrors that of The Last Jedi, the Ahsoka series, and The Book of Boba Fett. And with this example alongside many others, its no surprise that Stars Wars as a franchise has been missing the mark with many demographics, including Gen-Z.
But the divide seen with The Acolyte is larger than the previously mentioned example and the reasoning for this divide seems hard to pin down. Some of the reviews from critics praise the show’s action sequences, story, and characters. Of these subjects, the one to most resonate with general audiences most has been the action scenes and choreography.
Yet in contrast to the other cases I mentioned so far, the audience has been the group more critical of the writing and story. One would think that critics would be much harsher on these factors. The water gets further muddied by some reviews on Rotten Tomatoes praising the show for diversity in its cast, in direct contrast to scathing reviews that insist the show is “woke” and claim it was a wholly unnecessary addition to Disney’s Star Wars offerings.
But why are terms like “diversity” and “woke-ness” racing to the forefront of discussion about TV shows with these divides in reception? The answer may just be another cause for divided critic and audience opinion. That cause, might be politics. Case in point…
The Boys (Season 4) – An Audience Divided
The Boys is probably the most volatile of the divides discussed thus far due to its satirical edge. On Rotten Tomatoes, season 4 has maintained high critic ratings, but audience ratings have plummeted from season 3’s respectable 75% to a mediocre 53%.
As a TV adaptation of the original comics, The Boys is far more politically relevant than the source material.
While the comics portrayed superheroes as incompetent fools or unhinged psychos committing awful actions for the sake of the writers being edgy, the show exchanges a little bit of that unbridled edginess to instead use superheroes as a scathing satire of pop-culture, celebrity drama, superhero fatigue in the entertainment industry, and of course, politics.
But if this was the case with the show since day one, why is the divide between audiences and critics only sharpening now that we’re four seasons in?
For one, the real-world political climate that the show takes jabs at is a lot more tense in 2024 than it was in 2019, during season one of the show. This is especially true with American audiences as the nation is in the midst of a very controversial election year.
Things may have grown heated due to the show’s continued lack of restraint when dealing with political satire. The creator Eric Kripke and actor Antony Starr have made statements clarifying the show’s political stances and leanings in numerous articles.
The Boys has always been a show with all the subtlety of a nuclear bomb, so it becoming even less subtle with political commentary is a potential culprit for at least a part of the massive downtick in audience ratings.
Key Takeaways, And Should This Divide Even Matter?
So what gives? Why are critics and audiences more polarized than ever? There’s a lot of room to postulate various causes, and for sweeping generalizations.
Many critics and some people in the general audience were praising The Acolyte‘s strives for diversity and inclusivity, whereas The Boys had its general audience ratings torn in half due to scathing and unsubtle political satire and messaging. Politics are a very easy scapegoat for people to either baselessly review-bomb, or give undeserved praise to any given production.
In less charged cases like The Super Mario Bros. Movie or Despicable Me 4, it’s all too easy to write off the critics as being snobby and looking down on a family movie. But in those cases, many seem to advocate for more interesting and engaging stories that family audiences can grapple with and enjoy. They don’t hate these films, but expect more.
So with all of this polarization going around, who can you trust? The answer… is yourself.
I think our over-reliance on reviews stems from a fear of being exposed to media that “wasn’t worth the watch” or conflicts with our own real-world views. But by blindly following critics and general audiences, one may arbitrarily limit what media they can consume.
I think it’s best to give things a fair shot before writing them off as “kiddie fodder” or “too political” so these divides, while interesting to talk about, shouldn’t really matter in the long-run. We as a collective, should let people watch, enjoy, and criticize what they want to.
