The new Star Wars series, The Acolyte, is now streaming on Disney+ with the first three episodes, and both the Rotten Tomatoes Score and the Audience Score happen to put critics and fans on opposing sides.
With 134 reviews presently accounted for, the Rotten Tomatoes Score stands at 84%, down from 94% for the first two episodes.
Fans dislike the Star Wars series immensely, as the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score has dropped to 16% with the release of the controversial third episode, from a previous 48% following the two-episode premiere.
Update: Just prior to the release of episode 4 on Tuesday, the Audience Score drops to 14%.
The Acolyte now has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score from Star Wars fans, lower than The Last Jedi (41%) and the 2008 Clone Wars (40%).
For a comparison, the scores for the previous Star Wars shows are as follows: Ahsoka (86/69), Andor (96/86), Obi-Wan (82/62), Boba Fett (66/53), The Mandalorian (90/78).
The IMDb rating is also the lowest for Star Wars, currently at 3.7 with all three episodes released, down from a 5.2 with the first two episode premiere. Update: The IMDb rating has also dropped to a 3.5.
The viewership ratings also seem to reflect fan discontent as The Acolyte viewership is millions less than Ahsoka.
Check out what a selection of the negative reviews say below.
First two episodes decent then all downhill?
An early reaction has offered that the first two episodes aren’t all that bad, but that the series really goes downhill starting with episode three, and kills Star Wars.
My buddy saw the first two episodes at a fan screening in Los Angeles, and that fits pretty much with what he told me.
For Pride Month, to get fans excited, The Wrap also tweeted The Acolyte is “arguably the gayest Star Wars yet.”
Update: It’s confirmed Episode 3 is all downhill.
We are happy to report that #TheAcolyte is “arguably the gayest #StarWars” yet. 🌈 Happy Pride Month! 😉 pic.twitter.com/3oJSykc4Kq
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) June 4, 2024
What do the negative reviews say?
The show pulls back from its most audacious possibilities in a way that suggests the heavy hand of brand management, chipping away at anything that might rock the boat. – Slate
This is the first Star Wars series to give off a Star Trek: The Next Generation vibe. It doesn’t help that the show’s momentum can be slow, with too many dull exposition pitstops even as episodes clock in at a light 32 to 42 minutes. – Seattle Times
Full of logical fallacies, hokey dialogue and nonsensical plots, “Acolyte” feels entirely of a piece with the worst elements of the prequel trilogy, which many hardcore fans love to hate, even 25 years later. – USA Today
Beneath the familiar trappings, the visceral pull that Star Wars can summon in its best moments doesn’t manifest itself. Characters speak in platitudes about loss, grief, loyalty and revenge, and the cast mostly works down to the level of the dialogue. – New York Times
It’s good to see another Star Wars project that, like Andor, interrogates some of the franchise’s fundamental assumptions. Entertainment-wise, though, the first half of The Acolyte is unfortunately a lot closer to The Book of Boba Fett. – Rolling Stone
Even a veteran Jedi master would lose patience with the latest Disney+ addition to the canon, which focuses on a pair of twins, revenge, and… zzzzz. – Rolling Stone
The umpteenth example of the fact that not all sagas need go on indefinitely—and especially not via formulaic prequels. – The Daily Beast
Star Wars: The Acolyte unfortunately lives up to the hype as a series that will divide fans. Problems lie in the plot’s execution, overall vision of the characters, Star Wars universe, and puzzling inconsistencies in the use of the Force. – Movie Web
The new Star Wars series benefits from its distinctive action choreography but it’s undone by its storytelling. – AkhilArora.com
