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What is a movie review? In simple terms, A movie review is an article that gives an opinion of a movie and is published on the Web, in a newspaper, magazine. A movie review may include a recommendation and some form of scoring e.g. 3 stars out of 5.
Movie reviews are important because they often have an impact on consumers who are looking for good movies to watch. Thanks to these reviews, people know what they can expect when they buy a ticket and go inside a theater or watch a film on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, or other streaming service. As such, movie reviews can be a powerful marketing tool.
What are the Five Parts of a Movie Review?
There are those who argue that a movie review should contain four parts, and those who argue that it should contain five. Whichever you go with, you will find similarities in the factors they insist on.
- A plot synopsis or summary of the story.
- Background information or analysis of the plot elements (rising action, climax)
- Examination of the creative elements of the film (dialogues, characters, cinematography, music, special effects, costumes, and other factors that contribute to or take away from the overall plot)
- Evaluation or opinion (supported with examples and facts from the story)
- Conclusion (a summary of your take on the movie/film)
Are Movie Reviews always on point?
Like the movies they analyse, movie reviews themselves are not always a sure predictor of how successful a movie production will be. Sometimes, despite the most scholarly work of evaluating a movie and scoring it poorly, the audience ends up loving the movie, and vice versa. Humans are creatures of emotion, and even when a movie fails at some key scoring points or factors, if it can be related to by the audience, it goes on to be a hit at the Box Office.
How to Write a Movie Review
- Watch the movie and take notes of both major and minor events and characters. Taking notes means that you do not forget or miss any vital information that you would like to include in your review. Where possible (and it is highly recommended), watch the film at least twice to understand it as much as possible.
- Carry out a thorough research. Digging out background information on the movie and its theme/plot helps provide context for the analysis you will carry out and the evaluation and opinion you will publish. Find out about the historic events that inspired the production. A detailed research will provide your review with depth.
- Analyze the movie. Evaluate the movie from beginning to an end to put the pieces together. The goal is to see how ell the parts fit into the whole.
- Draft an outline that you will follow. List out your points. Think about what you want to say and list them out in short form. You can then flesh out these points for your detailed review.
- Use examples. Back up every opinion or judgement with examples. If you believe a scene was unnecessarily long, state why. If you think an actor did not execute a role as well as it could be, state why. Your job as a movie reviewer is to provide informed opinion. Anyone can give an opinion based on nothing but feelings and sentiments. Not you. You should do better.
How long should your movie review be?
Unless you are writing a scholarly work, with tons of academic references, your review should come out in between 600 and 900 words. You are likely writing for the public, not for academia.
Where can I write movie reviews for free?
You can write movie reviews for free here at Movie Flames. Be sure to follow the guide above, and when your review is ready, mail it to us at mails AT movieflames.com. We will publish it with credits to you (under your name or any pseudo-name you choose).