Each person could find what he or she needs in a movie: humor, adrenaline, drama, love,
a journey back through time, or an alternative reality.
So, writing a movie review seems to be one of the most interesting assignments for most students.
However, enjoying a good film in the evening and watching it solely for the purpose of
writing a review are not quite the same.
Hey everyone, I’m Mark with EssayPro.com, and our expert writers came up with a video
aimed to teach you how to avoid common mistakes and how to write an excellent movie review.
Without further ado, let’s start by answering the basic question: What is a Movie Review?
Generally, a movie review is a genre of art criticism and journalism.
It is a complex overview, usually made by a professional critic, on films that have
just been released, to help decide what film to watch.
Professional reviews differ from those made by amateurs; they are more structured, sharper,
more detailed, but at the same time more compact in wording.
In a professional movie review you will always find awareness of the film’s director(s),
their previous works and previous filmmaker’s pictures, as well as a deep understanding
of different film genres and classics for each of them, and filming techniques and modern trends.
Though, you can find a lot of reviews that are made by ordinary movie fans — and sometimes
they can end up being more informative and useful than a professional one.
The key to writing an outstanding movie review is understanding its purpose.
So, keep your goals in mind while writing:
Share some information about characters, relations and events,
but don’t tell the whole story.
Reading the review shouldn’t replace watching the film.
Yet, you are free to mention the most important moments or turning points that make the film
worth watching.
Analyze the film in general and in certain aspects, such as the acting, the work of the
director, theme, music, and special effects.
Make a conclusion if the main idea of the film was duly implemented.
Try to be objective and detailed in your evaluations.
Share your opinion.
Describe your feelings during, and after watching the movie and specify what you liked, and
what you didn’t like.
Provide your general impression about the film based on examples, descriptions, and
comparisons to enable readers to make their own decisions.
Give a recommendation.
Try not to be categorical, but let your readers know what they can expect from the film, and
who might find it interesting.
Say if it matches an official film description and declared genre, why it might be worth
watching, and what its weaknesses are.
Entertain the reader.
Reading movie reviews is actually kind of fun in itself.
We’ve, as a society, gotten used to using this option before choosing a film to watch.
Try to make an easy-to-read review, and write in an interesting manner.
Now, let's move to Step-by-Step Guide on How to Write a Movie Review.
1. Choose a Film.
If you have a choice, think carefully about what film you would like to analyse.
Surely most of us would choose one of our favourites.
Though, it’s not obligatory to write a review on tone of the films you like, you may write
about one you don’t like, and explain why.
Such an approach could be different and refreshing, and could bring you extra credit.
2. Watch the Movie.
Even if you’ve seen it a hundred times, watch it again in order to discover new details,
and to understand the characters and their motives better.
We recommend watching a film at least two, or better yet three times.
While watching it for the first time, we usually concentrate on the main heroes, their storyline
and emotions.
The second time around usually helps you to notice the details of minor characters and
their stories, such as music, timelines, costumes, decorations and locations.
All these things contribute to how you perceive the movie and your critique.
3. Make Notes.
Keep a paper and pen near you to write down things you notice in the film, or to note
your ideas while watching, or right after it.
Write your notes immediately once an idea comes to mind.
4. Research the Movie.
Filming is a long and complicated process that involves many people, which usually makes
the shooting process an interesting story in itself.
Find out as much as possible about it.
Is it an original scenario, or a re-telling or a remake?
Is the plot based on a book?
What was the available budget?
How has the cast changed in the process?
Pick up two or three of the most impressive facts about production and share them in your work.
5. Analyze the Movie.
Think about everything you saw in the movie and determine your impressions of the film.
Does the picture involve any social context?
What was the original idea for the film and how successful were the producers at implement
them?
Pay attention to how it was filmed and and what techniques were used.
For example, in Psycho, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, we can definitely notice
an unusual zoom effect called vertigo.
Think of which actor impressed you the most and why.
Compare this role with his or her previous works.
Discuss the movie you’ve chosen with your friends or family to get fresh ideas to support
your opinion, or for another point of view.
6. Draft a Review Outline.
A plan is always a good idea, and could lead to half of your success.
Before writing the actual movie review, make an outline of your work to structure all your
thoughts and arguments.
Read further to get an example of a movie review outline.
7. Come up with a Catchy Title
“My review for Titanic” sounds boring.
Think of intriguing or impressive title, like “Why taking a cruise is not always a good idea”.
Make your readers want to read further.
8. Write Your Review.
Now after you’ve done your research and prepared your work, it’s time to compose
everything together and write a review.
Put all your thoughts and arguments together and stick to the outline you wrote before.
Make a general overview of the film so that readers are able to understand what problems
might arise from it, but don’t spoil the outcome, as they might not have seen the movie yet.
Write main points that you liked, and ones that you didn’t.
Reinforce your thoughts with evidence and examples.
Comment on the originality of the movie and compare it with other films of the same genre,
films with the same topic, or films directed by the same person.
9. Edit Your Final Draft.
Once you’ve written your review, take a rest.
A little pause before a final reading and editing will help you to look at it with a
fresh outlook.
Read your work several times.
Check for spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, the sequence of presentation, compliance with
the outline and professor’s demands, and the format and style.
Structuring is extremely useful in any type of paper and a movie review is not an exception.
A written outline will help you organise your thoughts properly, not to forget anything
and to actually end up writing it faster.
Here is an example outline you may use:
Introduction.
In this part you need to provide some general information about the picture: title, release date,
main actors, filmmakers, film company and filming budget.
Summary of the story.
This is a short exposition of movie plot, characters and their interaction.
Analysis of the movie, that includes: Analysis of the plot elements: starting point,
rising action, and climax.
Analysis of creative elements: dialogues, characters, use of colors, camera techniques,
mood, tone, symbols, costumes or anything that contributes or takes away from the overall plot.
Analysis of the topic and its implementation: viewers’ understanding of the topic, relevance
of the topic, and comparison with other resembling works.
Opinion.
Your point of view supported with examples and facts from the story.
Conclusion.
Announce whether the filmmaker was successful in his/her purpose.
Explain how the motion picture was helpful in providing a deeper understanding of the
course topic.
Some relevant examples can be found on our Blog’s Article dedicated to this topic.
Check them out for more in-depth understanding of the overall process.
Now the promised bunch of some common mistakes among students that we recommend you avoid.
1. Retelling the film plot in detail.
As we mentioned above, the idea of a movie review is not to put the film on paper—
nobody likes spoilers.
Share the general plot to make your reader curious about seeing the film in order to
get their personal opinion.
2. Giving a too general opinion of the film.
Remember that things are rarely unequivocal.
Even if you don’t like the content and quality of the film, don’t forget to mention if
the music was actually pretty good, or if one of the actors managed to portray a believable
character.
3. Lack of evidence.
Presenting your opinion without any explanation why you think that way won’t be considered
reliable.
The unfounded statement isn’t a good resource for a decision, even if we are talking about
a choice of which movie to watch.
4. Lack of film research.
Don’t force your readers to conduct their own research, or to look for another review
to find out the background information of a movie.
5. Absence of structure.
If your work is not structured properly, it will be really difficult to follow your thoughts
and to understand your points.
Reviews should be helpful to readers, and good structure helps to get your message across
correctly.
6. No conclusions and recommendations.
As we mentioned above, providing recommendations regarding the film is one of the main purposes
of writing a movie review.
Do not deprive readers from your findings and thoughts.
By advising a good movie to watch, you may make someone’s evening.
And that’s it. If you enjoyed the video, hit subscribe and leave a like.
Leave a comment below if you have any questions, or want us at EssayPro.com to explain something
in further detail.
Thanks for watching.
See you on the next video.