With 2017 now firmly in our rear view, it's worth taking a look back and seeing which films managed to win big over the course of the last year. The science fiction genre was a particularly well-populated category in 2017, but it now seems that one of the biggest sci-fi franchises in the world also managed to receive some of the best reviews. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes has officially released a list of the best-reviewed sci-fi movies of the last year, and it looks like Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi has formally taken the top spot.
That's right, in addition to becoming a box office juggernaut, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has also taken the top spot as the best-reviewed sci-fi film of 2017. This revelation could make plenty of sense to someone who kept up with the wave of praise that followed The Last Jedi's initial release. Now we have the data to back that up, as the film has garnered an impressive adjusted rating of 106.601%. The film also maintains a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the third-highest-reviewed movie in the entire franchise -- following Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Of course, Star Wars: The Last Jedi wasn't the only major science fiction movie to debut on the big screen in 2017, or get solid reviews in the process. Though the eighth episode in the Skywalker family saga walked away with the most critical accolades, it was followed closely by Matt Reeves' War for the Planet of the Apes and its adjusted score of 105.882%.
Following Star Wars: The Last Jedi and War for the Planet of the Apes is Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 at the number three spot on Rotten Tomatoes' list of best-reviewed science fiction movies. Netflix's Okja took home the number four spot, and Marjorie Prime rounded out the list with the number five spot. That's a pretty solid lineup of sci-fi flicks, but it's clearly hard to compete for #1 when facing off against Star Wars.
It's no secret that Star Wars: The Last Jedi debuted to its own fair share of criticism when it hit theaters in December. Outside of the critic community, certain segments of the fanbase have voiced negative opinions about the movie and pointed out the perceived flaws with its particular brand of storytelling. Some have even called for it to be removed from the Star Wars franchise canon. However, even in the face of those issues, it doesn't change the fact that Star Wars: The Last Jedi remains the most critically well-received entry in the science fiction genre from last year.
Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi is still in theaters. If you haven't already, take a look at CinemaBlend's in-depth review of the film and take a look at our 2018 movie premiere guide to get a better sense of what films (science fiction or otherwise) are set to debut this year!
