ScreenRant Reviews are an industry staple and we approach each review with that responsibility in mind. We review because we are just as passionate about the movies/TV shows you watch, the games you play, and the comics/manga you read. ScreenRant Reviews add value to the overall experience of consuming the content you love by offering the unique views and opinions of our experts and opening the discussion to the entire ScreenRant community.

Movies, TV shows, and games are not just meant to be consumed. They are the predominant art forms of the 21st century and are intended to be critiqued and discussed. While ScreenRant Reviews will help you decide which content to consume, our reviews go beyond as they offer unique and thoughtful perspectives meant to complement and engage with the media we cover.

ScreenRant Reviews are regularly cited by studios, game developers, and other media, and regularly feature in release marketing. They are among the industry standard.

What We Review

• Movies
• TV Shows
• Video Games & Related Hardware
• Comics
• Anime and Manga
• Toys, Merchandise, and Collectibles

To enquire about submitting your title or product for a ScreenRant Review, please email editorial@screenrant.com

How We Review

ScreenRant has review teams for each of our areas of coverage made up of established experts on the topic, with experience in all forms of entertainment writing, including critique. Reviews are assigned based on a variety of factors, including expertise, interest, and experience.

A critic first fully experiences the piece of content under review, and then writes an independent review in accordance with our editorial guidelines and style. The review is then edited by our lead reviewer, including verification of its factual accuracy, and the summary and rating are approved.

We often gain early access to movies, shows, games, and comics from screenings, screeners, codes, and preview copies. Such early access is not conditioned with including input from the publisher or distributor in a review and ScreenRant has a policy against accepting any early access so conditioned.

ScreenRant’s Review Scores Explained

The art of reviewing is not something that can be summed up in a few words, nor can one review cover everything worth discussing about a piece of content. An individual’s perspective on a movie, TV show, or game may be wildly different from another’s, which is why a review is ultimately a subjective piece of writing. Review scores are the opinion of our reviewers, rather than the brand collectively, but all reviewers represent the brand and ScreenRant stands by all of our reviews.

Since its inception, ScreenRant has used a ten-point scale to grade movies, series, and games. Review scores are meant to reflect the general opinion of a critic on the piece of content they reviewed. Each ScreenRant rating is accompanied by a clear and concise explanation of the reason for the score as backed up by the content of the review. The rating itself is given only after the review has been written, and the editing process ensures the score accurately aligns with the writer’s general sentiment.

We recognize some may disagree with our review scores. Our reviewers come from all walks of life, which is a part of what makes each ScreenRant Review unique. These varied perspectives are also showcased in the review and its score, and we encourage lively discussion and debate from readers, including through our innovative Threads, so long as it remains respectful.

Review Scores

5 - Masterpiece

To receive a perfect score is a stunning and rare achievement. A masterpiece on the review scale is considered to be a perfect work in the eyes of the reviewer, and one of the best ever created in its genre. This score is only awarded to the type of work that transcends time and will remain in discussion years from now. It is a work of art that tried to say something profound and succeeded on all levels.

Examples of 5-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• Coraline
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• The Zone of Interest
• FF7 Rebirth

4.5 - Must-See

A 4.5 star score may not quite rise to the level of a masterpiece, but it comes close. Works awarded this score include top-tier production qualities and memorable storylines. A score this high is the mark of an amazing film, TV series, or game – one that must be experienced because of the distinctive and creative manner in which it is executed.

Examples of 4.5-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• Dune: Part Two
• The Wasp
• House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4
• Helldivers 2

4 - Excellent

A highly recommended, excellent experience. Movies, shows, and games earning this score provide excellent storytelling and entertainment value, such that a viewer is likely to be invested in the narrative and characters, and any cons are easily overshadowed by the overall high quality of the work.

Examples of 4-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• Aliens Expanded
• MaXXXine
• Interview With the Vampire Season 2
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

3.5 - Very Good

Works earning this score include obvious flaws, but such flaws are overshadowed by a generally good execution. A piece of content that is very good is worth your time, even if it does not excel in every way.

Examples of 3.5-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• Kinds of Kindness
• Daddio
• Longlegs
• Pokemon Scarlet & Violet DLC

3 - Decent

These works have notable issues, yet they also had certain redeeming qualities that kept us vaguely interested.

Examples of 3-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• The Instigators
• Despicable Me 4
• The Bikeriders
• Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

2.5 - Average

Works with this score are middle-of-the-road, having good and poor qualities in equal measure. These works pass the ScreenRant test for watchable content, but just barely.

Examples of 2.5-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
• Spaceman
• Dandelion
• Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition

2 - Bad

Works earning this score are riddled with many poor decisions and are underwhelming in nearly every category. These works may have several positive aspects, but they are not sufficient to redeem the work as a whole, and the work is forgettable.

Examples of 2-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• Divorce in the Black
• A Sacrifice
• Atlas
• Battlefield 2042

1.5 - Awful

A poor viewing experience that leaves the consumer with a lasting negative impression. Awful movies/series/games are not only a waste of time, but they offer very little entertainment factor.

Examples of 1.5-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• The Decameron
• Tarot
• Arashi: Castles of Sin

1 - Atrocious

Granted, it’s rare to get a score of 1, but that just means what’s being reviewed failed miserably in all aspects. Stopping short of outright offensiveness, there is very little to redeem works granted this score, though there may be rare positives, as quantified in the ScreenRant Review.

Examples of 1-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• Lumina
• Blackwater Lane
• Lord of the Rings: Gollum

0.5 - Horrendous

These works are unwatchable, unplayable, or unreadable, and are absolutely not recommended. Such a score is rare, but on the rare occasion it is awarded, we consider the work irredeemable.

Examples of 0.5-star ScreenRant Reviews:

• Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

Review Score FAQs

How do you determine scores? Our scores are determined by how we feel about a piece of content. The scores are based on a 5-star scale that takes into account a variety of factors — from plot and characters to editing and themes. Each reviewer may feel differently about a given work, and this is reflected in the score. Again, the score itself is not a scientific measurement; it’s a subjective descriptor that aligns with the written review.

Do advertisers or studios affect ScreenRant’s review scores? Absolutely not. Our review scores are based on what we think about any given movie, series, or game. Scores are never affected by advertisers or studios, nor are we ever paid to write a positive (or negative) review about anything. If it’s something we actually liked — even if others did not — that sentiment is genuine, and is reflected in the review.

Do you ever change your review scores? No, we do not change scores after a review is published. We may write a subsequent review of a different cut of a movie, a retro review, an updated version of a game, or of a season of a TV show as a whole. Such subsequent scores may vary even if the review is done by the same critic because the content they are later reviewing has changed, is analyzed within the context of a larger work or a critic’s viewpoint has changed during the course of time.

How do you pair reviewers to ScreenRant Review assignments? We make every effort to match genre releases with experts in that same genre, with proven knowledge and experience covering that genre. In addition, our entire team of skilled writers are hand-picked to review each movie, TV show, and game by our experienced editors.

All ScreenRant reviewers are chosen based on their authority and experience. Each member of our review team must meet certain authority-based criteria in order to qualify for review duties.