Here’s something strange: The latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, currently has a higher rating among critics (93 per cent) than members of the public (high 50s and still plunging) on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. For a film series that has had mixed critical fortunes, but which can point to billions in ticket sales in five different decades, that’s a thoroughly peculiar place to be.
The buzz – as well as the critical consensus – on the movie pre-release was positive. The film provides the audience’s first real reunion with Luke Skywalker, hero of the 77-83 Star Wars trilogy, for 35 years. (He appears in a single scene, and as a non-speaking character, in 2015’s The Force Awakens.) Lucasfilm were even optimistically distributing “For Your Consideration” cards ahead of Oscar voting season. While it is traditional for any and all Star Wars films to be labelled “The best since Empire [Strikes Back]” this seemed to go beyond that.
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