Jordan Peele’s ‘Us’ Debuts To Rave Reviews, Currently Has 100 Percent Rating On Rotten Tomatoes
Even though it isn’t set to release until later this month, Jordan Peele’s second film has managed to avoid the sophomore slump, as evidenced by a recent influx of early reviews.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Us premiered earlier this week at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas, ahead of its theatrical release. While reactions have been limited to festival-goers and select members of the press, early impressions are extremely positive so far, with some noting that Us might eclipse Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out, in terms of box office success and widespread popularity.
On Metacritic, a review aggregator that tracks reviews for films, TV shows, music albums, and video games, Us currently has a Metascore of 82, based on reviews from 14 different critics. Per the site’s rankings, this high of a score correlates to “universal acclaim,” though it’s worth noting that unlike other aggregators, Metacritic uses a weighted average to calculate Metascores, meaning that reviews from some outlets and websites will be counted more than others.
At the time of this writing, Us has not received the site’s “Must-See” designation, which requires an average Metascore of 81 or higher, calculated from a minimum of 15 reviews. While Us is currently the highest-rated 2019 mainstream release across the site, its ranks lower than a handful of documentaries and independent films, including Wrestle, Apollo 11, and The Souvenir.
#UsMovie remains #Fresh at 100% on the #Tomatometer, with 25 reviews. https://t.co/qMnnthmTLm
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) March 9, 2019
Over on Rotten Tomatoes, Us has seen similar success when it comes to average review scores. At the time of this writing, the film has a 100 percent rating, which means that each of its 39 tracked reviews has a score of 60 percent or higher.
Similar to Metacritic, high-ranking films can be awarded a “Certified Fresh” designation, though the requirements are rather stringent. Wide-release films need a score of 75 percent or higher, calculated from a minimum of 80 critics, five of which must be “Top Critics.”
Top Critics are reviewers who generally write for major newspapers or other outlets. Individual reviewers cannot apply to be listed as a top critic; instead, Rotten Tomatoes’ staff determines which writers receive that particular designation.
A handful of prominent critics were thoroughly impressed with Jordan Peele’s newest film. Monica Castillo, who reviewed Us for the Roger Ebert site, awarded the film four stars (out of four).
“‘Us’ is another thrilling exploration of the past and oppression this country is still too afraid to bring up,” Castillo wrote. “Peele wants us to talk, and he’s given audiences the material to think, to feel our way through some of the darker sides of the human condition and the American experience.”
Us is set to release on March 22.
