Every Star Wars Movie Ranked By Their Divisiveness Between Critics And Fans (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

Critics and casual movie viewers have had different brains, mindsets, and points of view of movies, both while watching them and talking about them. But when it comes to critics and major franchises with passionate fanbases, that is a whole other can of worms getting opened.

Star Wars has amassed an incredible following, but in recent years has become a divisive franchise. Here we are talking about the general divide between critics and fans, using Rotten Tomatoes scores, and ranking the movies from the lowest % of divisiveness between the critic and audience scores to the highest.

12 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) – 2% Difference

With an 84% Tomatometer and 86% Audience Score, Rogue One is, by technicality, the least divisive Star Wars movie according to Rotten Tomatoes.

Few people have it as the best Star Wars film ever, but perhaps fewer have it as the worst. The third act is insane, and the movie adds a lot to the original trilogy, particularly in terms of Darth Vader.

11 The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – 3% Difference

Unsurprisingly, on Rotten Tomatoes both critics and fans alike have The Empire Strikes Back as the best Star Wars movie, with a 3% difference between the critics’ 94% and the audiences 97%.

The movie made Star Wars two for two in perfect movies, and in films that changed cinema. It is nothing short of a masterpiece, earning every ounce of praise it gets.

10 A New Hope (1977) – 4% Difference

Before Empire though, there was Star Wars, a movie beloved by all, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 92% by critics and 96% by audiences, with audiences liking it just that bit better than critics (8% of whom are clearly clueless).

There is nothing divisive about A New Hope or Empire, fans are not going to argue over dialogue or weird plot points in these two movies, and critics are not going to point out tiny 1977 technical flaws, they are incomparable movies.

9 The Phantom Menace (1999) – 6% Difference

Moving onto a movie that is not that divisive on Rotten Tomatoes, but in the opposite way, The Phantom Menace. 53% of critics see the movie in a positive light, along with 59% of fans.

The Duel of the Fates improves this movie drastically, and the podrace sequence has some great stuff. The movie has some great characters and moments, but a lot of critics and fans do not appreciate the dialogue, pace, and a lot of the movie’s content.

8 Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) – 7% Difference

Solo suffered from some toxic fans, awful marketing, and some other fans just not caring. It is the first film on this list where critics liked it better, scoring in at 70% compared to the audience’s 63%.

Han and Chewbacca’s relationship is amazing to see, so too is Lando, and it is a fun adventure film with a lot to love. Though not a lot of people do really love it, at least it is not as hated nor divisive as other Disney Star Wars movies.

7 The Force Awakens (2015) – 7% Difference

Critics appreciated The Force Awakens more universally than fans, perhaps understanding better why J.J. was making the movie eerily similar to A New Hope. Nevertheless, both groups score it high on Rotten Tomatoes with 93% from critics and 86% from audiences.

The movie does a great job of introducing the new characters and reacquainting the old. It eases in old fans, while giving new and younger fans something to love, and is pretty much seen across the board as a great, fun movie.

6 Attack Of The Clones (2002) – 9% Difference

The biggest issue of Attack Of The Clones is the dialogue and acting, helping make the film get a rotten score by audiences with 56%, but actually getting 65% from critics, attributed to the film’s action, which is great to fans and critics alike.

The music is incredible in Attack Of The Clones, which is a film only really divisive between the group of Star Wars fans who love the prequels, and those who hate them – however, the sequel trilogy has diverted attention away from that debate.

5 Return Of The Jedi (1983) – 12% Difference

Moving into the double-figure territory of divisiveness, Return Of The Jedi has long been seen as the weakest of the originals, with critics giving it a relatively low 82%, while audiences have it way higher at 94%.

While the second Death Star is a bit lazy, and the acting, plot, etc. may be a bit of a step down from the previous two films, fans do not care that much. Jedi offers an emotionally satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and is a fantastic rewatch for any fan.

4 Revenge Of The Sith (2005) – 14% Difference

Revenge Of The Sith presents the biggest surprise of the list, with critics deeming it 80%, 14% higher than the audiences 66%.

It all goes back to those fans who hate the prequels. But, nowadays, the prequels are looked back on in a fonder light, especially Revenge Of The Sith. Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid are phenomenal, the action and lightsaber battles are great, and, partially thanks to The Clone Wars, the movie incites devastating emotion.

3 The Clone Wars (2008) – 21% Difference

The Clone Wars really should not be this high when talking about divisiveness. It has a 21% difference, but both fans and critics give it extremely low scores of 18% (Tomatometer) and 39% (fans), which all could come down to how many fans gave reviews.

The movie is nothing compared to the animated show it spawned. But, in the journey of Ahsoka, it is a good movie to look at in hindsight seeing where she came from (that is if you can manage your way through a full rewatch of the movie).

2 The Rise Of Skywalker (2019) – 34% Difference

The latest Star Wars movie continued the divisiveness of the sequel trilogy, with fans (86%) showing far more love for the movie than critics (52%), which is unsurprising considering it is clearly made for fans.

The movie has a lot to love and can be a super fun ride. It suffers from a lot of issues in the pace, the story itself, and the entire Palpatine story. It will be interesting to see if this film remains this divisive in the years to come, or if it will age better or worse with time. Just because the Audience Score is 86% does not mean all fans love it, that is far from the case.

1 The Last Jedi (2017) – 48% Difference

The Last Jedi ripped the fandom apart in 2017, and to this day there are still arguments going on about it, especially in the wake of The Rise Of Skywalker. The critic score currently sits at 91%, with the Audience Score all the way down at 43%.

The interesting thing about it is that the fandom itself is split, full of people who adore the movie and who hate it. Critics adored the bravery, the filmmaking skill, the twists, the performances, and the action among other things. Fans who hated the movie have gone as far on many occasions to call it not Star Wars, whether it be because of Luke’s arc, Rose Tico as a character, Rey’s arc, Snoke’s death, or other plot points. This movie will be talked about and debated for generations to come and is by far Star Wars’ most divisive.