The much-maligned recent DCEU sequel Wonder Woman 1984 has seen its Rotten Tomatoes score fluctuate wildly in the weeks since its Christmas Day release. After opening to a "Certified Fresh" rating, the film's score plummeted with a surge of post-release reviews which swung towards the negative. Such dramatic changes beg the question: how could such variance occur? What caused this precipitous drop in critical reception: was it a flaw of the Tomatometer, of the unique release model, or of the film itself? After careful examination, the answer to that question lies somewhere in the middle of all three.
The 2020 sequel to the 2017 film follows Diana in 1984, and she's still doing heroic deeds decades after the events of the first film. When a mysterious Monkey's Paw artifact falls into the wrong hands, Diana must combine her strength with that of humanity's collective good nature to save the world. With a positive takeaway message to lift spirits after a tumultuous year, some early critics praised Wonder Woman 1984, saying of its incessantly delayed release schedule that it was well worth the wait. But after this initial wave of positive reviews gave way to a more mixed critical response following the film's wide release, Wonder Woman 1984's aggregate rating on review website Rotten Tomatoes dropped from 89% on Christmas Day to 60% less than 3 weeks later.
But this is hardly the first time a film's Rotten Tomatoes score has drawn controversy. The website rates movies using a system aimed at boiling down a film's critical consensus into one of three categories: to be "rotten" means that fewer than 60% of reviews were deemed positive, to be "fresh"means over 60% of the reviews are positive, and the coveted "Certified Fresh" designation is for Fresh films with over 80 reviews, at least 70% of which are positive and 5 of which come from venerable "Top Critics." The site draws input from over 3,000 reviewers, but reducing each writer's nuanced assessment to a binary positive or negative figure leaves the door open for inaccuracy. The flaws of the Tomatometer are highlighted by Wonder Woman 1984, whose polarizing critical response led to latent variability hiding beneath the aggregate "Certified Fresh" designation. When at last enough negative reviews brought it to a tipping point, the Tomatometer algorithm saw the film's score take a tumble.
Perhaps it's fitting that Wonder Woman 1984's post-release life should remain tumultuous, as its journey to this point has featured no lack of intrigue. A chief victim of the COVID-19 pandemic's widespread impact on the film industry, Wonder Woman 1984 found itself in the unenviable position of pioneering Warner Bros' slate of dual-release films playing simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. Did Wonder Woman 1984's release model influence critical reception to the film? Certainly, the unprecedented circumstances could've influenced viewing experience, and therefore critical appreciation of the film, leading to an onslaught of middling reviews which made the film's Rotten Tomatoes score ripe for fluctuation.
Or maybe the ultimate culprit behind the film's mercurial Tomatometer score is just that: the film itself. Sure, it delivers on genre elements and a hopeful through-line, but other critics derided its bloated, messy plot and its unconvincing dialogue, leading to mixed reviews. Interestingly enough, Warner Bros employed a strategy with regards to review embargoes that may have influenced the rating drop. They allowed early overseas reviews, where large tentpole films like Wonder Woman 1984 typically succeed, to garner positive word of mouth in anticipation of the film's wide release. Then after Christmas, they removed the embargo on all reviews, resulting in a flood of more tepid reviews which leveled out its score.
Rotten Tomatoes is no stranger to precipitous drops in film ratings, and this embargo strategy is hardly innovative. Nevertheless, the confluence of these factors in addition to its unique release model make for a perfect storm of sorts. Whether its score continues to drop or makes a Phoenix-like comeback, Wonder Woman 1984 has unquestionably captured the attention of many fans, braving new territory through this streaming-centric world in which we find ourselves.
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January 17, 2021 at 03:40AM
https://screenrant.com/wonder-woman-1984-rotten-tomatoes-rating-changes-explained/
Is Wonder Woman 1984 Fresh or Rotten? Why Its Score Keeps Changing - Screen Rant
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