‘The Rats: A Witcher Tale’ is a Streaming Hit on Netflix and has a 21% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes

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The latest season of Netflix’s The Witcher is struggling. Viewership has dropped significantly, and the show faced challenges after replacing its lead actor, Henry Cavill, with Liam Hemsworth. Surprisingly, a spin-off called The Rats: A Witcher Tale has recently appeared in Netflix’s Top 10, about a month after being quietly added to the platform, even as the main series’ fourth season underperforms.

Originally planned as a prequel series to The Witcher, The Rats became an 82-minute TV movie after the project faced difficulties. At one point, Netflix seemed to have canceled it altogether, and there were doubts it would ever be released – some thought it might just become part of Season 4. Because of this, many viewers didn’t even realize The Rats was available, and despite appearing on some charts, it isn’t receiving positive reviews.

Directed by Mairzee Almas, The Rats: A Witcher Tale stars Christelle Elwin, Ben Radcliffe, Fabian McCallum, Aggy K. Adams, Connor Crawford, Juliette Alexandra, Dolph Lundgren, Ben Robson, Sharlto Copley, and Freya Allan. Here’s a brief overview of the story:

I’m really excited about this new story! It’s about six outlaws, a pretty rough bunch, who are planning an incredible heist. But here’s the twist – they’ve always worked alone, and now they have to learn to trust each other. To make things even more interesting, they’re teaming up with a Witcher who’s seen better days. It’s going to be wild to see if they can actually pull it off!

Is ‘The Rats: A Witcher Tale’ Worth Watching on Netflix?


Netflix

Netflix quietly added the movie The Rats to its streaming service, and so far, only one critic has written about it. Kate Sánchez from But Why Tho? A Geek Community gave it a surprisingly positive review, which contrasts with how most viewers feel. Here’s what her review said:

“The Rats: A Witcher’s Tale” perfectly shows why television benefits from having longer seasons – something many high-quality shows and streaming services have stopped doing.

Viewers haven’t been kind to the film, giving it a low 21% score on Rotten Tomatoes. While it’s clear the movie feels rushed, likely due to being adapted from a series into a single film, that’s just one of many issues. Many critics have called it “unwatchable,” criticizing the script, performances, and what they see as superficial and damaging portrayals of strong female characters, arguing it undermines rather than supports feminist ideals.

Some critics say that The Rats strays too far from its original story, calling it uninspired fantasy that feels like poorly written Dungeons & Dragons fan fiction, and is only appealing to very young audiences. The only positive aspect mentioned is Dolph Lundgren’s performance, which is seen as a rare highlight in an otherwise disappointing film.

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2025-12-01 23:09