New York film critic receives abuse after his negative review of Star Wars

A New York film critic says he has been bombarded with abuse from Star Wars fans after posting a scathing review of the new film.

Andrew O'Hehir, who writes for news website salon.com, wrote a less than favourable review about The Force Awakens, calling the movie 'an obsessive reboot' of the original.

The reviewer was one of just a handful of critics to criticise the seventh instalment in the series and was one of the first have his review marked as negative on the film website Rotten Tomatoes.


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New York film critic Andrew O'Hehir says he has been bombarded with abuse from Star Wars fans after panning the new film

And when fans of the film found out about the review, they were quick to take to social media to berate him, with one even saying 'please just die'.

He explained on salon.com: 'One guy wrote to me on Wednesday – from his work email in Canada in response to my review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

'“Dear Mister O’Hehir,” he wrote. “Please just die (like Roger Ebert did) and leave us alone.”

'I got a number of other angry responses from Star Wars fans through various channels, and was identified in a Twitter meme as one of the Hateful Four — the only four critics, at that writing, who had supposedly rendered negative verdicts on “The Force Awakens.'


Fans of the film were quick to take to social media to berate the critic for one of only a handful of less than favourable reviews


Mr O'Hehir added that he has been taken aback by fans' anger and said he wondered why people were so angry given that the film was heavily marketed


One Twitter user wishes Mr O'Hehir luck after he dared to pan the new Star Wars movie online

While on Twitter one fan wrote: '@andohehir How does it feel to be that one dumbass critic to give #ForceAwakens a rotten rating? God job you fugly c***'

And another said: 'You spoke to soon! Now 97% because Andrew O'Hehir at Salon.com is a c***.'


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The science-fiction adventure, the seventh instalment of the Star Wars series, topped box office charts around the world as it made £356million ($528m) globally

Mr O'Hehir added that he has been taken aback by fans' anger and said he wondered why people were so angry given that the film was heavily marketed.

It comes after Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, known best for reporting on the Pope and the activities of the Catholic Church, criticised the record-setting blockbuster saying it pales in comparison to prequels one to three.

However, overall The Force Awakens has been greeted with critical acclaim with the Daily Mail’s Brian Viner called it ‘ the most exhilarating film yet in this mighty franchise’ and awarded it four out of five stars.

The science-fiction adventure, the seventh instalment of the Star Wars series, topped box office charts around the world as it made £356million ($528m) globally.

It is also tipped by many to be the first film to make more than £2billion ($3bbn) in ticket sales.

The action film has stolen the crown from disaster movie Jurassic World, which set a record in June when it made £352million ($522m) in its first weekend.

However, The Force Awakens was unable to set a similar benchmark in the UK, failing to knock James Bond’s Spectre off its perch as the most successful ever opener.

Its success will have studio Disney eagerly anticipating the planned Star Wars sequels that are already in the pipeline.

It is the first of an already announced trilogy which will wrap up in 2019. Stand-alone films are also in the works, with one telling the story of a young Han Solo and another which tells the story of a group of rebel fighters who come together to steal the plans for the Death Star.