Summary
Kneecaphas earned two-time Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender his best Rotten Tomatoes score yet. The new comedy movie, which blends fiction and documentary, follows the formation of the titular Irish hip-hop band in West Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter in 2019. While the three band members play themselves, they are surrounded by actors including Fassbender, Simone Kirby, Adam Best, Jessica Reynolds, and Josie Walker. Although some early positiveKneecapreviewscame after the movie’s premiere at Sundance in January, most critics waited to share their thoughts on the movie until the lead-up to its official release in August.
Rotten Tomatoeshas now aggregated an official score forKneecapout of 50 different reviews from critics. The movie has receiveda profoundly fresh Tomatometer score of 96%. While this score could fluctuate as more reviews are added, at the time of writing it is the highest score for any movie starring Michael Fassbender. His second-best title would be the Oscar-winning12 Years a Slave, which has a Certified Fresh score of 95%.
Kneecap’s Michael Fassbender Record Explained
The Star Has Strong Rotten Tomatoes Scores Across The Board
Kneecapbreaking a Rotten Tomatoes record is particularly impressive considering the fact that Michael Fassbender movies tend to be especially appealing to critics. Of the 33 movies featuring the star that have received official scores on the platform, only 11 have received Rotten scores. Additionally, of those 22 Fresh scores,16 of them have been Certified Fresh(including two of hisX-Menmovies), withKneecappossibly becoming an eventual 17th. Below, see a breakdown of Fassbender’s Top 10 movies on the platform:
96%
12 Years a Slave(2013)
95%
92%
91%
90%
89%
86%
Jane Eyre(2011)
85%
Fassbender has dabbled in blockbuster filmmaking, arthouse drama, independent comedy, and everything in between, to general critical acclaim. Working withauteursas varied as Taika Waititi, Matthew Vaugn, David Fincher, Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, Steve McQueen, and Danny Boyle has seeminglyallowed him to keep his career fresh and interesting over the years, even if he has appeared in duds such asThe Snowman(7%) orAssassin’s Creed(18%) on occasion. This is what makes it all the more impressive thatKneecaphas managed to outstrip every single one of those previous titles.
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It remains to be seen ifKneecapcontinues to be his highest-rated movie of all time on the platform. Upcoming movies featuring the star, including the Steven Soderbergh titleBlack Bag, could very well beat its record-breaking score. However, this is a tremendous result for a movie with such an unusual blend of genres. This could help boost the independent movie’s profile, which could eventually bring more eyes to the project and bring more positive reviews down the line, possibly increasing the score even more.
Kneecap
Cast
Kneecap is a film written and directed by Rich Peppiatt and premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. A semi-fictional retelling of the titular rap group’s formation, the film explores their rising success in their hometown of Belfast as they help define a growing voice of the youth in modern-day Ireland.
