'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' Has Better Reviews Than 'Avatar: The Way of Water'

In Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Antonio Banderas returns to the Shrek franchise, and critics seem enamored with the swashbuckling cat. The Rotten Tomatoes rating for the new movie is now available, and the reviewers have praised it even more than highly-anticipated blockbusters like Avatar: The Way of Water. At the time of writing, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 95% based on 148 reviews, blowing its competition out of the water when it comes to critical acclaim. Audiences also love the movie, giving it an average score of 93%. Meanwhile, Avatar 2 sits on an average of 73% on the reviews aggregate website, with a more generous audience score of 92%. The ratings of both movies take a hit on Metacritic, with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish pulling a Metascore of 75 (generally favorable) and a user score of 8.8 (universal acclaim). Meanwhile, Avatar 2 earned a Metascore of 67, with a user score of 7.4. 

Polygon described The Last Wish as "A fairy tale adventure that complements genuine laughs with splashy, impressionistic art." Associated Press added that the film "avoids too much of the frenetic anarchy of a lot of kids movies that mistake chaos for excitement." New York Post said, "The No. 1 reason to watch, though, is Banderas' top-notch voice performance. If only more A-listers treated their animated film roles as more than a pet project." AV Club noted that "Dreamworks Animation really seems to be pulling out the stops these days with distinctive visuals and well-written stories, making The Last Wish easily the best film in the Shrek franchise." At the same time, Washington Post admits, "The bar isn't terribly high here, but Puss and company clear it comfortably, landing — but of course — on their feet."

Slant Magazine praises the movie for aiming high. "Given that big-studio children's animation so often feels like it was created by algorithm, it's refreshing to see a kid's cartoon like The Last Wish that's filled with too many ideas rather than too few." It's clear that regardless of the critics' score, both movies are booming at the box office. Avatar 2 has generated $1.928 billion globally, overtaking Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.91 billion) as the sixth-highest-grossing release in box office history. To date, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish has grossed $114 million in the United States and Canada and $150.4 million in other territories for a total of $264.4 million worldwide. Now playing in theaters across the U.S., Puss in Boots: The Last Wish will be released in the U.K. on Feb. 3.