THE ACOLYTE Reviews (Mostly) Praise Latest STAR WARS TV Series As Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Revealed

THE ACOLYTE Reviews (Mostly) Praise Latest STAR WARS TV Series As Rotten Tomatoes Score Is Revealed

The first reviews are in for Star Wars: The Acolyte, and with mostly very positive verdicts from critics, the series has already been "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes. Find a full roundup here...

By JoshWilding - Jun 04, 2024 04:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Star Wars
Source: SFFGazette.com

As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, the review embargo for Star Wars: The Acolyte lifted earlier today and the series has already been "Certified Fresh" with 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

While it's not exactly the critical darling Andor was, verdicts are mostly positive and that score is essentially equivalent to 4/5 which is by no means a bad result. Some have already decided they'll hate The Acolyte because it features a diverse cast and Lucasfilm is likely bracing itself for review bombing. 

It does sound like Lucasfilm has a hit on its hands here, though, and we're now just hours away from the two-episode premiere. With that, legitimate fans will be able to chime in and share their thoughts on this prequel to the prequels. 

The Acolyte is expected to be a self-contained story, though there has been some chatter about the door being open to a second season. That will hinge on the show's viewership numbers in the coming weeks. 

You can check out the Tomatometer reveal below along with a roundup of reviews from entertainment websites, the trades, and more. 

What perhaps makes The Acolyte such an engaging and addictive watch (over the first four episodes screened for critics, at least) is its commitment to not treating the Jedi (or the Star Wars franchise writ large) as untouchable. If anything, Sol, Indara, and the like become figures through which the series pokes holes at the revered Jedi Order in a way that feels necessary if you’re to think of this world as an ethically ambiguous morass where everyone is trying to do their best and finding, in due time, that, yes, even Jedi are fallible. [B+] - AV Club

Star Wars like you’ve never seen it before, The Acolyte soars thanks to its impressive cast, compelling setting, and a mystery which will keep you coming back for more. Now, we just need to hope the series sticks the landing. - ComicBookMovie.com

A Star Wars mystery that interests rather than intrigues, this is spiced up nonetheless by a brand-new setting, some arresting Force-fu and a Wookiee with a lightsaber. [3/5] - Empire Online

The Acolyte does not throw out the Star Wars playbook entirely. It’s faithful to the charms that have carried this series for so many decades: strange planets, weird creatures, lightsaber battles with a fresh wuxia flair. Mae’s murderous quest is backed by a mysterious figure whose helmet, weapon and mechanical voice recall Darth Vader, suggesting this narrative could yet come down to another Sith-versus-Jedi battle. - The Hollywood Reporter

The Acolyte takes us to an earlier era of Star Wars than we’ve seen on screen, with mixed results. Awkward dialogue and a small scope rob it of some of the series’ signature space magic, but these old-school Jedi are a thrill to watch in action. [6/10] - IGN

The Acolyte had a lot of things that could have worked against it. A new era for the franchise, all new characters, and a small portion of the Star Wars fanbase who hates anything not straight, white, and male was pushing back on the show before it even started it. But the first four episodes of The Acolyte tell a story I cannot get enough of.The Mary Sue

Someone is killing the Jedi. But who? And why? Harder to answer. Where the story unfolds from the two-episode premiere is anyone's guess, but it's safe to say that I'm on board for this particular jump into hyperspace. [8/10] - Slash Film

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. [2/4] - USA Today

In giving itself permission to poke at 'Star Wars' mythology, 'The Acolyte' cultivates the same sense of curiosity it exhibits about its own universe. Too often, franchise series feel like a perfunctory exercise in expansion. When my screeners for “The Acolyte” ran out, I wanted to learn what happened next, even if we already know where the Republic is heading. - Variety

With only half the season available for review, of course, it’s hard to say whether Headland and her staff will stick the landing, or whether 'The Acolyte' has its eye on an extension beyond these eight episodes. But this is also the rare-so-far 'Star Wars' show that doesn’t feel like its first job is to revive a bunch of beloved iconography. - The Wrap

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Itwasme
Itwasme - 6/4/2024, 4:16 PM
Nice, glad people are liking it. Looking forward to seeing it for myself.
RegularPoochie
RegularPoochie - 6/7/2024, 11:16 PM
@Itwasme - it is good and pretty interesting and after these two episodes you can tell that there's so much in it, that will be huge surprises.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 6/4/2024, 4:17 PM
Pretty good score.

One thing I don’t understand is why Rotten Tomatoes is so hated around here. We all understand it’s an aggregated score, but I don’t know why it’s treated weirdly around here.
Mrnorth1921
Mrnorth1921 - 6/4/2024, 4:18 PM
@MyCoolYoung - because there is a conspiracy made up by toxic fans that critics are bribed or shills for a company. Because of one unreliable article that supports their views.
Itwasme
Itwasme - 6/4/2024, 4:21 PM
@MyCoolYoung - because it's easier to tear something down than build it up. Either that or they don't understand math and statistics.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 6/4/2024, 4:26 PM
@Itwasme - I think the answer here is yes
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 6/4/2024, 4:26 PM
@MyCoolYoung - I don’t get it either but I think it’s also case by case

If some people have already made up their minds about hating on something then if it gets a positive percentile then they say that it doesn’t matter or whatever and vice versa
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 6/4/2024, 4:28 PM
@Mrnorth1921 - yeah I be seeing those conspiracies. I choose not to indulge because people are crazy. They really hate something so much that anyone who likes it must be a puppet
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 6/4/2024, 4:58 PM
@MyCoolYoung - The odd thing of the whole reviews for bribes bit is that it started gaining a lot of traction here about why DC was getting lower ratings than Marvel 'so Disney must have been buying in advantage with RT'. Even tho that never made a ton of sense when RT was owned by WB so logic would dictate if anyone were likely to game the reviews it would skew in favour of DC, not Marvel.

I am not saying there is never any instances of incentivising reviews, that has ALWAYS gone on, but it is always overblown in order to support whatever narrative is at play and once a conspiracy theory has been created it may morph but never goes away entirely and oft grows instead.

Ultimately all RT is, is a rough guide to the odds someone will find a film/show above average to guage breadth of appeal to the GA. It was never about comparing actual quality as that requires a calculation like those done on metacritic or IMDB that run a calculation to give an average score, not a binary count of what percent score above or below average without factoring in individual scores beyond that.
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 6/4/2024, 5:04 PM
@MyCoolYoung - Take a look at Disney properties post Capt. Marvel, specifically the critics vs audience scores and you'll see why most dislike them. They do this EVERY TIME a new product comes out. The Disney executive hand-picked critics put out glowing reviews to sell it to the customers. Then the customers watch and they disagree fully with those reviews and begin to see these critics as nothing more than mega-corp shills. So it's a simple "boy who called wolf" situation.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 6/4/2024, 5:14 PM
@MyCoolYoung - In addition to everything mentioned above, they also acknowledge the existence of review bombing, which the worst bad faith assholes on *ahem* some websites' comment section will insist has never been a thing.
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 6/4/2024, 5:40 PM
@clintthahamster - Not that I trust any aggragate score but why I like IMDB as can go under the hood and see the obvious review bombing, on both ends to some degree but most obviously with the minimum scores, and cos they oft open up submitting reviews before the thing has been released and can watch them pile up in the hours before any of the GA has been able to see a single frame.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 6/4/2024, 9:21 PM
@TheVisionary25 - THIS! I see this weird flip all the time. Critical reception is just a guidance. I don’t even read none of them but hearing a movie is received well overall can be a comfort
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 6/4/2024, 9:24 PM
@Apophis71 - this is very well put. All critical reviews of anything should just be a guide but people put so much stock into these things.

On one hand I understand because of how much movies are, but honestly, critics aren’t stopping me from watching a movie I have interest in.

During the great flame wars of 2014/5 people use to say that paid stuff all the time
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 6/4/2024, 9:31 PM
@clintthahamster - review bombing was really one of the most toxic things these fandoms has produced and that’s saying something. We're talking about grown men and women are behind such childishness. It truly shows the worst in us
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 6/4/2024, 9:39 PM
@WarMonkey - that’s a poor choice. Captain marvel started decent then went to almost 40% and finished fresh.

It doesn’t matter who they pick to see the movies first, they can’t stop the ones that didn’t like it from leaving a review and that’s the point of the site
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 6/4/2024, 4:20 PM
You 💾ed
RitoRevolto
RitoRevolto - 6/4/2024, 6:02 PM
@ProfessorWhy - Floppy-disked?
ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 6/4/2024, 6:46 PM
@RitoRevolto - the other option was a thong sandle.....so,yes
supermanrex
supermanrex - 6/4/2024, 4:21 PM
well it should be a hoot to watch the incels and haters go full on press to convince everyone that this a bad star wars and girls and brown people are icky.
WhateverItTakes
WhateverItTakes - 6/4/2024, 4:35 PM
@supermanrex - because that's the most important thing isn't it. Look how well that went for shehulk
marvel72
marvel72 - 6/4/2024, 4:36 PM
@WhateverItTakes - And she was Green.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 6/4/2024, 4:40 PM
@supermanrex -
It’s like with any critics system , be it movies or music, if they praise something you like , the critics are great , if they dislike something you like , they are payed and don’t know what they’re talking about.

Or course something can be universally liked or hated , or at least liked or hated by a majority, but at the end of the day, if you enjoy it , who cares ?

It’s all subjective but sometimes I think we get caught up in trying to make everybody like it, and for what ? Why is it so important that other people like something you like or the other way around ? Haha
Scarilian
Scarilian - 6/4/2024, 4:46 PM
@MisterDoctor217 -
Rotten Tomatoes, regardless of what it says, is a brought/paid for site that shills to varying companies at varying times - most notably Disney.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 6/4/2024, 4:53 PM
@Scarilian -

Well idk about that. There’s one Disney movies that have goteen bad reviews. The same with every studio.

I’m not denying that companies bribe critics or people somehow cause they do, they potentially send them gift packages or give them free tickets (that’s why you have so many influencers now becoming “critics” of hosts) , but the Rotten Tomatoes site as whole?
Idk it just seems like if it was paid for , Disney would be making bank and getting rave reviews with each movie they release , which they’re not.
MisterDoctor217
MisterDoctor217 - 6/4/2024, 4:53 PM
@MisterDoctor217 -

There’s some Disney movies that have gotten bad reviews***
Sorry about my bad grammar there lol
WarMonkey
WarMonkey - 6/4/2024, 5:08 PM
@supermanrex - LOL, thanks for the funny prediction. I'll bet against your prediction though and say it'll be the woke Reylo types that cry and lash out in anger by blaming men for not caring about the feminist product. So far my prediction is coming true before it even comes out so I feel good about it so far.

Let's see who's right
Scarilian
Scarilian - 6/4/2024, 5:09 PM
@MisterDoctor217 -
"Disney would be making bank and getting rave reviews with each movie they release , which they’re not."

It only makes sense to invest in specific ones, as if every single movie from them was getting perfect scores then the review site would evidently get called out as being a Disney shill site.

At the moment the focus is on trying to prop up Disney+.

The Doctor Who series, is rated at 95% critic and 35% audience because they have put a block on people being able to submit audience reviews since May 14th and are limiting critic reviews to positives (Not a single negative 'top critic). Doctor Who being a show Disney recently acquired for Disney+

Would not remotely be surprised if the same happens for the Acolyte. Disney NEED Disney+ to start to appear like it could be profitable, especially now that they are getting increased complaints of 'quantity' being the focus instead of 'quality'. Disney+ is the epitome of flooding people with a ton of extremely expensive shows nobody is watching or supporting and would be the most evident thing to scrap if not for the sunk cost fallacy.
Origame
Origame - 6/4/2024, 5:32 PM
@supermanrex - no one convinced anyone the last jedi, rise of skywalker, obi wan, and Mando season 3 were bad. They just were, and we all pointed it out.

You're just a simp who can't stand anything you like getting criticized. So you latch onto any insult you can come up with to try and shame us. Which is pathetic. If you really genuinely liked it, what we say shouldn't matter.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 6/4/2024, 5:35 PM
@supermanrex - "well it should be a hoot to watch the incels and haters go full on press to convince everyone that this a bad star wars and girls and brown people are icky."

My hope is that some day soon, people making comments like this will realize they are just as cringe as they incels they are obsessed with.
supermanrex
supermanrex - 6/4/2024, 6:04 PM
@Origame - oh trust me it doesnt matter but i still speak up against bullshit. others are too. like dislike that's up to you. start talking trash that woke this and woke that is the reason you or others dislike then i cant stand idly dawg.
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