My Take on Film Criticism
the seven tips to becoming the greatest teen movie critic, in my opinion
By: Keaton Marcus
How to critique and view a film has been a hotly debated topic for a long, long time and I’m not the first to cover the subject. From objectivity and subjectivity, whether to throw ratings on your reviews, whether to write or speak, to the debacle of respecting other people’s opinions. Our modern society throws tomatoes at films they don’t understand and calls them pretentious, and some people value their own takes as facts instead of the opinions that they are. It’s also been said that YouTube critics shouldn’t be considered “real reviewers”, and then we have the dilemma on whether aggregator websites should exist, such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. There’s so much to cover in just one article, and I hope readers will find some sort of point that relates personally to them without getting lost in this hot mess of a piece. I am simply praying that anyone can find some sort of relevance or meaning in it, and I also desire that they respect whatever I put out there, no matter how nonsensical it could seem to them.
1. Opinions and Facts
Perhaps the best place to start this thing off is to clarify the differences between opinion and fact, which also relates to the slew of social media trolls looking to curb-stomp any sequel trilogy lover. Next month I’ll have articles galore defending that Star Wars trilogy, but let’s stay on topic. In our wonderful little world, folks think that their opinions mean absolute fact, and that anyone who disagrees with them shall be murdered in cold blood. Whether someone doesn’t hate a film as much as they do, or doesn’t enjoy a movie as much as they do, this person is automatically wrong. The thing is, that simply cannot be true. Just because you value something dearly does not mean someone else is obliged to. Reverting back to the sequel trilogy, the Star Wars fanbase have really shown their true colors in the past few years, especially when The Last Jedi hit theaters. I’ll save most of my thoughts for next month on this, but I do want to clarify that other people can have their own opinions. The detest and disgust that Rian Johnson, Kelly Marie Tran and even Daisy Ridley have received sickens me even though I am able to respect people that absolutely despise this film. This is called respectfully disagreeing, which is a term that everyone who has any sort of relationship with cinema should know. As a film lover, you’re completely encouraged to disagree and start a friendly debate with people who have opposite opinions, but it doesn’t mean you’ve got to get hateful or resentful.
2. subjectivity and objectivity
This leads me right along to my next argument on subjectivity and objectivity in cinema, and why it’s important to see the stark contrasts between the two terms. Principally, subjectivity means creating an opinion on something based on personal feelings and interpretations (Hobbs & Shaw is the greatest film ever made). On the other hand, objectivity relates to the concept of not letting those very thoughts get in the way of putting down a rating or simply writing some thoughts down. In my opinion, I believe that a critic cannot have too much objectivity in their reviews, and cannot allow an overload of subjectivity either. Why? Well, I do believe that subjectivity should be somewhat present because you’re the one writing about this film, and you want to let readers know what you think without any bias. However, if personal opinions get too prominent, it can cause issues similar to the ones in the previous paragraph. Your opinion can become a little too passionate (Brad Pitt should have won Best Actor for Ad Astra). It also can make your reviews seem solely based on the enjoyment factor rather than actual quality filmmaking. For example, am I entertained by Mission: Impossible? Yes. Is it better cinema than Portrait of a Lady on Fire? Absolutely not. For different people this take could be utter blasphemy, but just remember, it’s my personal opinion. In direct contrast to this, letting too much objectivity in reviews can lead to writing thoughts down for the love of cinema feel like chores. I always love to praise movies for having fantastic action sequences that entertain, and it gives me more enjoyment while writing essay-length reviews. If I solely graded cinema based on if the performances were Oscar-worthy, or the cinematography was mind-blowing, or the direction was groundbreaking, I simply can’t have any fun. I definitely do take in to consideration if these factors are present in the movie I’m watching, but I also know how to grade a high-octane action movie on its own merits without hammering it with invalid criticisms. Again, this is my take.
3. the duty of grading
Additionally, then there is always the task of putting paragraphs upon paragraphs of potentially detailed thoughts, and chucking them under a few digits. While it is absolutely essential to have a grading scale, whether it’s from A+ to F, 100-0, 10-o, or fresh tomato to rotten splat, you’ve got to have it. The real troubles arrive when you’ve come to realize that you grade mindless fun such as Extraction on the same scale as a cinematic masterpiece like Blade Runner 2049 or The Godfather Part II. It maddens you that Chris Hemsworth drivel could even be on the same level as a Denis Villeneuve Oscar-winner, and I completely understand what you’re thinking. In terms of solutions, you could always literally make up different grading scales for the many different types of movies, but that may get a little convoluted and irritating for the core audience. Instead, I recommend getting on with it, and maybe putting a little note if necessary on how you’re grading the film. Furthermore, we simply can’t grade a comedy differently to a serious drama just because of the type of genre that it lands in. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is a masterpiece of the genre despite not being a flawless film in itself. Ex Machina is a masterclass in cinema, on the other hand. All of this can sound confusing and overly intricate as well, but I essentially do not agree with the fact that we have to give genres their own rating scale only based on the fact that if they make you laugh, cry or think. This is a flawed system undoubtedly, but one that is ultimately crucial to reviews.
Why is this? Because it creates some sort of connection between the critic and the reader. Audiences get an overall picture into the opinions of their favorite movie reviewer. Our website uses the grading scale out of 100 with no specific reason behind it, just because we like the look of it. But one thing we do have a reason for is actually giving it a score. Tedious and undeniably flawed as it may be, it accomplishes these simple goals…Exchanging opinions between the two. Also, for people who hate reading 1000 words may find it useful to get an overall gist of the movie by glancing at a rating right at the top. It may be a bit of a put-down to realize that some folks just want a numerical score rather than spend 25 minutes or so reading your work, but if you want a big audience, you’ve got to take every possibility into consideration. Remember, the customer is always right.
4. should you listen to rotten tomatoes?
Websites that have been dubbed “review aggregators” have been around for decades. This all started with Rotten Tomatoes, a site that grades movies based on the collective reviews of critics. Their staff basically looks for different reviews on the web from sites like The New York Times or The Hollywood Reporter, and slaps them under a rating from 0-100 paired with a symbol that’s either Rotten or Fresh. This is shown either with a fresh tomato or a green splat, indicating the quality of the movie. Remember back to the potential scenario I explained when a person could be perfectly content with simply reading a rating? This website is flawlessly designed for those people. On the other hand, it seems pre-mature to classify potentially hundreds of detailed reviews under one score. It can be a solid tool to see the consensus of the critics if you want to see an acclaimed movie, but I personally prefer to read individual reviews from sources I trust. I follow this process because the most trustworthy aspect of Rotten Tomatoes is its average rating, which actually calculates the overall score of the reviews collected instead of just basing a score on how many positive and negative reviews it has received. However, this system is a fundamental failure in another way…Not all critics throw a score on their articles. In fact, a lot of them don’t, which makes it far less trustworthy and poorly conceived. So, in my opinion, it depends on the type of film enthusiast whether to trust review aggregator websites. The best thing to do perhaps is to go into watching a film with an open mind, and I’ll get into that next.
The only thing I prefer more to reading individual reviews is heading into the cinema without any information. Especially with the biggest movies like Avengers: Endgame, I refrain from even glancing at the Rotten Tomatoes score. I watch all the trailers and formulate my level of excitement. Pretend Endgame received a 25% “Rotten” score on the website, and you looked at the results immediately after the embargo lifts. Your spirit and excitement for the film would obviously drop substantially, right? Of course it would. Basically every MCU fan was absolutely pumped for the movie. It would also negatively affect the box office results. Unfortunately, to really head in with a clear mind, you’ve got to resist the temptation to look at reviews and go with the flow. Then, upon viewing it, you can form your own opinion. This, for me, is the most beautiful thing about being a critic or a film lover.
5. smart or pretentious?
I will also do the duty of covering the word pretentious, which is a word many have grown to love putting in their reviews because of a film’s self-indulgence. The actual word pretentious in cinema means attempting to impress audiences that you have greater talent than is actually possessed. Basically, it’s a filmmaker showing off their stuff when it isn’t all that impressive while thinking it really is. You could call it bragging in a way, and I’m not going to deny that there are films that do it. However, labeling a film this just because of its complexity shouldn’t be considered alright, especially if the director actually has some talent. Remember, there isn’t anything wrong with showing off if you’ve got serious skill. For example, Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things was praised by many critics, but it split audiences because of its unconventional approach to studying the human mind, and that bothered them. I lauded it as the best film this year, and it has landed in my top 20 films of all-time, but general moviegoers didn’t seem to buy in. For the most part, this was due to them thinking that the film was nothing more than self-indulgent, irritatingly convoluted nonsense with no point to make. However, Kaufman is a legitimately excellent filmmaker, and the craft on display with this movie is too clear to deny. From the top-notch technical aspects such as cinematography and score, to the easily ramped up tension in scenes that normally would have none, and the delicate approach to covering a troubled man’s deepest desires all hooked me in. Again, I completely understand why some folks could think all the dazzling camera work was just to distract from the lack of substance or relatable characters, but I highly disagree.
On the other hand, I also had the burden of watching Luc Besson’s Lucy, which got by with decent reviews and massive box office numbers. The 90-minute action thriller about a woman, portrayed by Scarlett Johansson who finds her true brain potential and basically turns into a superhero marketed itself as a breakthrough in cinema. On the outside, Besson was telling audiences he was a genius and created the best science fiction film of all-time. On the surface it sure looked like that, but as you dug deeper and peeled the onion a little more, there was absolutely no substance underneath. It was a slick action thriller with solid performances, but nothing extra, nothing special. That’s what I would call pretentious, and it deeply infuriated me that anyone could think of this as a masterpiece of any sorts. Everything in it was simply ok, and there weren’t truly any stand-out aspects that I was in awe at. The difference between this, and say…Midsommar is that Ari Aster has clever ideas and good characters as well as a little self-indulgence. The thing is, the film itself deserves this little pat-on-the-back because it’s so damn good. Lucy, however, congratulates itself after Besson put in absolutely zero effort to make it any more than what the movie actually is: mindless fun. It’s almost like if the kid who got the participation medal was put on a higher pedestal than another person who won first place. Putting yourself higher than others with no skill is wrong, and that is a fact. But we can’t call every movie pretentious only because we don’t really understand it.
6. To write or to speak
For some obnoxious reason, people have put YouTube movie critics at a lower standard than ones that write their reviews. As a person who loves to jot down my thoughts, I’m here to tell you today that there is no right or wrong when it comes to the format. First of all, it needs to fit you as a person, and you have got to be comfortable while reviewing. I am an introvert, and I find it far more relaxing behind a screen instead of talking on YouTube, so I have created a website. Other people who love to interact, or are extroverted, might have the complete opposite view of things. This could lead them to wanting to start their own channel instead of writing on social media or on the web as I do. There are loopholes, however. You don’t have to show your face while recording a review, and can simply put clips or different visuals from the film instead of the alternative. Truly, our modern world has made it possible to do whatever the hell you want in creating content, and don’t let me lecture anyone or coerce anybody into doing something they’re not ok with.
Another aspect to cover about this is the literal limitations of writing a review instead of recording one. Sometimes, people really want to express feelings about a movie, and whether positive or negative, this can be extremely difficult to do using writing. If you’re more this type, it may feel constricting with the barriers of formality and complex language stopping you from getting truly personal. On the other hand, someone like me always strives to be as personal and intimate as possible while writing reviews, which has become somewhat of a rarity these days. The important thing is, both types of formats are equally fantastic as long as they support your needs as a film critic, and if they don’t, it’s really best to change as fast as possible. You’ve got to love sharing content just as much as you love cinema, and that’s final.
7. Judging a Movie on its own merits
This almost directly relates to my grading scale argument on whether you should have different criteria for the many genres out there, whether it’s comedy or drama. This more applies to noticing the overall strengths of the movie rather than tearing it piece-by-piece right after watching. For example, you wouldn’t judge Tropic Thunder on whether it has complex characters. That would apply to something like Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, a film that strives to create conflicts and intricacies within its protagonist. You would, however, critique the former on the laugh-out-loud factor. Was it hilarious or not? Were you consistently entertained? Judging a movie on its own merits is severely important to writing or recording a trustworthy review. Would I criticize a masterpiece of human madness such as Joker if it wasn’t lighthearted? Come on! No! It’s the exact same with something fun and comforting. Would I nail the lack of compelling drama in Pitch Perfect. Nah. See what I’m getting at here? Look at what touched you in the experience, whether it was funny, visually dazzling, tear-jerking or whatever. Then, of course, there’s the film with no merits: The Emoji Movie, but to hell with that, right?
In conclusion…
Now to bring these scattered thoughts to a close is the real challenge of writing this. I would say my main message in all of this is to be true to yourself while accepting other people’s opinions. Learn to balance objectivity and subjectivity in your criticism, and formulate your own opinions before looking at the Rotten Tomatoes reviews. Additionally, there is the cruciality of putting rating in reviews, judging a movie on its own strengths, and whether a film is smart or just plain pretentious. This may not be the most focused article, but I do think that each section somewhat has a connection with the previous ( I hope these seven key factors in becoming a generally well-rounded, respectful critic have helped you. And remember, this is only my take.