Rotten Tomatoes movie reviews have been around since August 19th, 1998, when Senh Duong launched the site as a part-time project. A big Jackie Chan fan, he had trouble finding reviews for Chan’s films, and so he collected them as they came out in America. This gave him the idea to start a site where reviews for an individual film would be listed together. The first film to receive such treatment was Your Friends & Neighbors. Inspired by the site’s initial success, Rotten Tomatoes became a full-time project on April 1st, 1999.

So how do Rotten Tomatoes movie reviews work? Film reviews from certified critics (usually those who belong to various critic’s guilds) are gathered together, and then it’s determined whether their reviews are positive (“fresh”) or negative (“rotten”). All of the reviews are factored together to give the film an overall rating. Films with 60% or more positive reviews are considered “fresh,” while less than 60% equals an overall “rotten” rating. This allows the reader to view an overall critical consensus at a single glance.

A separate “Top Critics” section also exists where nationally known reviewers such as Roger Ebert have their critiques posted. These reviews are tabulated separately, but they also figure into a film’s overall freshness rating.

If a film receives at least 40 reviews and has a rating of 75% or better on the Tomatometer, it receives a seal labeling it “Certified Fresh.” It’s much harder for older films to gain this label, as fewer movie reviews are available. But since new releases may feature as many as 270 reviews, you’ll often see recent high-quality films given the Certified Fresh seal.

In addition to Rotten Tomatoes movie reviews, the site also offers forums, movie news, and plenty of ways for readers to voice their own opinions on film. Rotten Tomatoes is consistently one of the most viewed websites on the planet.

So which films have received the best and worst ratings according to the Rotten Tomatoes movie reviews? Let’s take a look at a few.

Some Movies Receiving a 100% Rating

• Invasion of the Body Snatchers
• The Godfather
• The Evil Dead
• Jaws
• The Wizard of Oz
• The Third Man
• On the Waterfront
• Toy Story
• The Killer
• Man on Wire

Some Movies Receiving a 0% Rating

• Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2
• Jaws: The Revenge
• Witless Protection
• One Missed Call

Since you’re obviously interested in movie reviews, why not check out the following:

• Avatar Movie Review
• Gene Siskel Movie Reviews
• Inglourious Basterds Movie Review
• Up in the Air Movie Review