Disney+ has their new ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ show debuting tomorrow, August 18th. As with every tentpole franchise film or show the media is drumming up controversy. This does not help Disney or Marvel and actually turns people off of projects. Previously the controversy has been that men don’t like female superheroes. Of course this isn’t necessarily true, especially when it comes to She-Hulk, who has been very popular for decades. Today the controversy of choice is the alleged “review bombing” by “trolls” on IMDb.
I can tell you that it is 100% being review bombed, but that doesn’t necessarily mean what the media wants you to think. I’m sure that some people are trying to give it low scores ahead of it’s actual release, but there are other movements that bombard a service with perfect scores to artificially raise the score as well.
**Update** Here is an example from Rotten Tomatoes and they admit that they are trying to change the score from the beginning.
In the case of ‘She-Hulk” we are seeing both extremes trying to manipulate the score ahead of release. Both extremes are bombing the site with reviews.
Here is a screen shot from IMDb from about an hour ago:
You can clearly see both extremes trying to inflate and lower the score. The truth likely lies in the middle. However all the “1” scores are considered “trolling” while the “10” scores are reported by the media as legitimate. No. They are likely both artificial.
We’ve seen this behavior before with films like “Captain Marvel.” There were campaigns to manipulate the scores on both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, but there were dueling campaigns to artificially lower and artificially raise the scores. But only one side is called out as “toxic” behavior.
The truth is that the show isn’t even officially out yet so none of the scores are likely legitimate. Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t even allow audience scores until a film or show has released. Even then, it’s not hard for a studio to manipulate those scores too. You can actually buy campaigns and bots to give comments and reviews.
Yes, “She-Hulk” is being “review bombed, but these review sites are likely all being review bombed. Be it by fans on either extreme or the studios and / or the people who work for them. The truth and the real viewer rating likely lies somewhere in between.
Pirates & Princesses (PNP) is an independent, opinionated fan-powered news blog that covers Disney and Universal Theme Parks, Themed Entertainment and related Pop Culture from a consumer's point of view. Opinions expressed by our contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of PNP, its editors, affiliates, sponsors or advertisers. PNP is an unofficial news source and has no connection to The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal or any other company that we may cover.