Rotten Tomatoes   --   Are the Critics FRESH or ROTTEN?   Rotten Tomatoes -- Are Critics FRESH or ROTTEN?  |  NEW REVIEW: The Matrix (1999) -- 87% FRESH!  |  The Phantom Menace: 62% -- DISAPPOINTING? YOU DECIDE!  |  Saving Private Ryan STILL at 96% FRESH!  |  American Beauty (1999) just added -- reviews coming in!  |  Site launched August 12, 1998 by Senh Duong! Home All Movies Fresh Films Rotten Films Top Critics Submit a Review About RT Contact What is the Tomatometer? The Tomatometer is the percentage of approved film critics who gave the movie a positive review. A score of 60% or above = [FRESH]   |   Below 60% = [ROTTEN]. Rotten Tomatoes was launched on August 12, 1998 by Senh Duong, a UC Berkeley grad student who was tired of reading conflicting reviews. We collect reviews from newspapers, magazines, and online publications, then compute the score automatically. All Critics = all approved reviewers on our list Top Critics = major publications only (NYT, LA Times, Washington Post, etc.) Search for a movie: 1998-1999 Films: The Tomatometer Results Film Title Year Tomatometer Reviews Status Saving Private Ryan 1998 96% 148 [FRESH] Shakespeare in Love 1998 93% 132 [FRESH] The Matrix 1999 87% 109 [FRESH] There's Something About Mary 1998 84% 97 [FRESH] American History X 1998 83% 84 [FRESH] The Thin Red Line 1998 78% 116 [FRESH] Fight Club 1999 66% 128 [FRESH] Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 1999 62% 144 [FRESH] (barely) Eyes Wide Shut 1999 74% 101 [FRESH] Armageddon 1998 40% 121 [ROTTEN] Godzilla 1998 25% 104 [ROTTEN] Lethal Weapon 4 1998 54% 89 [ROTTEN] Patch Adams 1998 24% 76 [ROTTEN] Spotlight: The Matrix (1999) Tomatometer: 87% [FRESH] 109 reviews counted. Directed by the Wachowski Brothers. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss. Sample Fresh Reviews: "A visually astonishing and mind-bending sci-fi film. The bullet-time effects alone earn the price of admission." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times [FRESH] "Reeves may be wooden but the Wachowskis are not. A genuinely exciting action spectacle with real ideas behind it." -- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone [FRESH] Sample Rotten Reviews: "Style over substance. The philosophy is half-baked but the CGI is impressive enough for a Saturday matinee." -- Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine [ROTTEN] DEBATE: Phantom Menace -- 62%: Deserved? Star Wars fans are divided. Is 62% the right score for The Phantom Menace? Jar Jar Binks has critics split. Mainstream audiences are more forgiving than the critical establishment. Use our poll below to vote! [FRESH] camp says: "Pod racing, lightsaber duel, Liam Neeson. It's STAR WARS." [ROTTEN] camp says: "Trade disputes, midi-chlorians, and the most annoying CGI character in cinema history."   Do You Agree with Critics? Movie: The Matrix Star Wars: Phantom Menace Saving Private Ryan Fight Club Armageddon Your vote: FRESH (critics are right!) ROTTEN (critics are wrong!) Top Critics on RT Roger Ebert -- Chicago Sun-Times Peter Travers -- Rolling Stone Richard Schickel -- TIME Janet Maslin -- New York Times Kenneth Turan -- LA Times David Denby -- New Yorker Joe Morgenstern -- Wall St. Journal All Top Critics >> Currently in Theaters American Beauty -- reviews incoming The Insider -- 96% [FRESH] Blair Witch Project -- 87% [FRESH] The Sixth Sense -- 85% [FRESH] Sleepy Hollow -- 68% [FRESH] Dogma -- 66% [FRESH] About Rotten Tomatoes Site created by Senh Duong Launched: August 12, 1998 UC Berkeley, Computer Science This is a one-person project built because the creator was tired of reading conflicting reviews before seeing a Jackie Chan film. We aggregate, we count, we score. Read our full story >>   Visitor Counter:     You are visitor #1,224,887 Copyright © 1999 Rotten Tomatoes. Created by Senh Duong. All rights reserved. senh@rottentomatoes.com  |  About  |  Privacy  |  Submit a Review Last Updated: November 11, 1999  |  Rotten Tomatoes launched August 12, 1998