How To Write A Great Movie Review

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How To Write A Great Movie Review

By : Ugur Akinci 99 or more times read

Submitted 2010-08-14 10:46:48

Writing a movie review is fun and a great way to pay homage to the movies you love. Somewhere down the road you can even start making money from your reviews as well since many publications regularly hire freelance reviewers.

After writing hundreds of movie reviews, I decided to boil down the main points of a good and comprehensive movie review down to a list. Here it is:

META INFORMATION

Include the following facts right away, before you get into your analysis:

* Title (but of course)
* Year of release (a must for DVD reviews)
* Genre (optional)
* Stars (in major roles)
* Director
* Writer

ANALYSIS

The analysis part of a movie review should include the following components:

PLOT POINTS

* What is the theme-establishing opening shot?
* What is the “inciting incident” that gets the ball rolling?
* What are the first and second plot points that signal the beginning of acts two and three, respectively?
* What is the mid-point where the story takes a U-turn either in terms of a false victory or a false defeat for the protagonist?

DRAMATIC ELEMENTS

* Who is the Protagonist and Antagonist of the story?
* What is the MAIN CONFLICT between them?
* What is it that one wants that the other denies?
* Why do we care about that conflict? What would have happened if the main characters do not get what they want?
* What is really at stake and why should we care?
* Does the pace of the conflict rise steadily, to culminate at a point in the end of Act Two where “everything is lost” for the Protagonist?

DIRECTION

* Are the color palette, camera moves and music appropriate for this movie? Do these elements help create and maintain the general mood? How about costumes and set design?
* Is the movie directed in a consistent manner?
* If the movie starts with an Over-Voice and with a camera replacing the Protagonist's POV (point of view), does it remain the same or change?
* What's the effect?
* Is the consistency or the change intentional?
* What purpose does it serve?

EDITING

* Editing in the post-production phase is actually responsible for the final product you see on the screen. But it's not always easy to judge editing unless you're an experienced editor yourself. Most of the time the director has a hand in editing as well, or at least he or she supervises this all very critical step.
* So as a film reviewer you can note for example if it's a "fast" editing (with short scenes rushing in succession)?
* How were the transitions?
* Did editing provide the "context" of a scene or did it stick to the action in question?
* This is one category of movie review in which you should tread lightly if you do not know much about the process of film editing yourself.

CASTING and ACTING

* How good is the acting?
* Does any actor “steal” a role from the others?
* Is casting appropriate for the roles?
* Is there a chemistry between the actors?

SCREENPLAY

* Assuming that whatever you see on the screen was also in the screenplay, how good is the script?
* Are dialogs “on the nose” type of dead exchanges?
* Is there too much exposition?
* Are future elements and plot twists telegraphed in the earlier scenes? (Or to use a modern Hollywood slang, is the “plant watered” ahead of time before it blooms in Act Three?)

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

* What other film does this movie remind you of?
* Do you smell plagiarism and lifting-off of other films?
* How original is the concept and story line?
* Is it a remake or a sequel?
* If it is, are there any innovations in this installment?

PERSONAL CRITIQUE

* Can this film be improved?
* If yes, in what ways?
* What would be your suggestions to improve this film?

.......

As you can see, a movie review requires not only a genuine love for the format but also a deep background in history and technique of movie making.

If you answer at least some of the questions outlined above, you can rest assured that your readers will feel enriched and illuminated by your review.

(Public domain image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Author Resource: Ugur Akinci is a Fortune 500 writer who shares his free writing tips and tutorials at http://www.TechnicalCommunicationCenter.com and http://www.How-To-Write-Anything.com.

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN' 'http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd'><html><head><title>Ad Free Articles | How To Write A Great Movie Review</title></head><body><h3>How To Write A Great Movie Review</h3> By: Ugur Akinci Writing a movie review is fun and a great way to pay homage to the movies you love. Somewhere down the road you can even start making money from your reviews as well since many publications regularly hire freelance reviewers. After writing hundreds of movie reviews, I decided to boil down the main points of a good and comprehensive movie review down to a list. Here it is: META INFORMATION Include the following facts right away, before you get into your analysis: <pre><code>* Title (but of course) * Year of release (a must for DVD reviews) * Genre (optional) * Stars (in major roles) * Director * Writer </pre></code> ANALYSIS The analysis part of a movie review should include the following components: PLOT POINTS <pre><code>* What is the theme-establishing opening shot? * What is the “inciting incident” that gets the ball rolling? * What are the first and second plot points that signal the beginning of acts two and three, respectively? * What is the mid-point where the story takes a U-turn either in terms of a false victory or a false defeat for the protagonist? </pre></code> DRAMATIC ELEMENTS <pre><code>* Who is the Protagonist and Antagonist of the story? * What is the MAIN CONFLICT between them? * What is it that one wants that the other denies? * Why do we care about that conflict? What would have happened if the main characters do not get what they want? * What is really at stake and why should we care? * Does the pace of the conflict rise steadily, to culminate at a point in the end of Act Two where “everything is lost” for the Protagonist? </pre></code> DIRECTION <pre><code>* Are the color palette, camera moves and music appropriate for this movie? Do these elements help create and maintain the general mood? How about costumes and set design? * Is the movie directed in a consistent manner? * If the movie starts with an Over-Voice and with a camera replacing the Protagonist's POV (point of view), does it remain the same or change? * What's the effect? * Is the consistency or the change intentional? * What purpose does it serve? </pre></code> EDITING <pre><code>* Editing in the post-production phase is actually responsible for the final product you see on the screen. But it's not always easy to judge editing unless you're an experienced editor yourself. Most of the time the director has a hand in editing as well, or at least he or she supervises this all very critical step. * So as a film reviewer you can note for example if it's a "fast" editing (with short scenes rushing in succession)? * How were the transitions? * Did editing provide the "context" of a scene or did it stick to the action in question? * This is one category of movie review in which you should tread lightly if you do not know much about the process of film editing yourself. </pre></code> <img src="http://www.xomba.com/sites/www.xomba.com/files/resize/imagecache/content/images/Gentlemen_Prefer_Blondes_Movie_Trailer_Screenshot_%2816%29-300x304.jpg" align=left hspace=8>CASTING and ACTING <pre><code>* How good is the acting? * Does any actor “steal” a role from the others? * Is casting appropriate for the roles? * Is there a chemistry between the actors? </pre></code> SCREENPLAY <pre><code>* Assuming that whatever you see on the screen was also in the screenplay, how good is the script? * Are dialogs “on the nose” type of dead exchanges? * Is there too much exposition? * Are future elements and plot twists telegraphed in the earlier scenes? (Or to use a modern Hollywood slang, is the “plant watered” ahead of time before it blooms in Act Three?) </pre></code> INDUSTRY COMPARISON <pre><code>* What other film does this movie remind you of? * Do you smell plagiarism and lifting-off of other films? * How original is the concept and story line? * Is it a remake or a sequel? * If it is, are there any innovations in this installment? </pre></code> PERSONAL CRITIQUE <pre><code>* Can this film be improved? * If yes, in what ways? * What would be your suggestions to improve this film? </pre></code> <hr /> As you can see, a movie review requires not only a genuine love for the format but also a deep background in history and technique of movie making. If you answer at least some of the questions outlined above, you can rest assured that your readers will feel enriched and illuminated by your review. (Public domain image courtesy of Wikipedia) Author Resource:-> Ugur Akinci is a Fortune 500 writer who shares his free writing tips and tutorials at <a href="http://www.TechnicalCommunicationCenter.com">http://www.TechnicalCommunicationCenter.com</a> and <a href="http://www.How-To-Write-Anything.com">http://www.How-To-Write-Anything.com</a>. Article From <a href='http://www.adfreearticles.com/'>Ad Free Articles</a> </body></html>

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