movie review brief

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How to Write a Movie Review

Last Updated: August 11, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Marissa Levis . Marissa Levis is an English Teacher in the Morris County Vocational School District. She previously worked as an English director at a tutoring center that caters to students in elementary and middle school. She is an expert in creating a curriculum that helps students advance their skills in secondary-level English, focusing on MLA formatting, reading comprehension, writing skills, editing and proofreading, literary analysis, standardized test preparation, and journalism topics. Marissa received her Master of Arts in Teaching from Fairleigh Dickinson University. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 5,651,028 times.

Whether a movie is a rotten tomato or a brilliant work of art, if people are watching it, it's worth critiquing. A decent movie review should entertain, persuade and inform, providing an original opinion without giving away too much of the plot. A great movie review can be a work of art in its own right. Read on to learn how to analyze a movie like a professional film critic, come up with an interesting thesis, and write a review as entertaining as your source material.

Sample Movie Reviews

Writing an Intro for a Movie Review

• Comparison to Relevant Event or Movie: "Every day, our leaders, politicians, and pundits call for "revenge"– against terrorist groups, against international rivals, against other political parties. But few of them understand the cold, destructive, and ultimately hollow thrill of revenge as well as the characters of Blue Ruin. "
• Review in a nutshell: "Despite a compelling lead performance by Tom Hanks and a great soundtrack, Forrest Gump never gets out of the shadow of its weak plot and questionable premise."
• Context or Background Information: " Boyhood might be the first movie made where knowing how it was produced–slowly, over 12 years, with the same actors–is just as crucial as the movie itself."

• Using stars, a score out of 10 or 100, or the simple thumbs-up and thumbs-down is a quick way to give your thoughts. You then write about why you chose that rating.
• Great Movie: ABC is the rare movie that succeeds on almost every level, where each character, scene, costume, and joke firing on all cylinders to make a film worth repeated viewings."
• Bad Movie: "It doesn't matter how much you enjoy kung-fu and karate films: with 47 Ronin, you're better off saving your money, your popcorn, and time."
• Okay Movie: "I loved the wildly uneven Interstellar far more than I should have, but that doesn't mean it is perfect. Ultimately, the utter awe and spectacle of space swept me through the admittedly heavy-handed plotting and dialogue."

• Great: "Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer's chemistry would carry Fruitvale Station even if the script wasn't as good. The mid-movie prison scene in particular, where the camera never leaves their faces, shows how much they can convey with nothing but their eyelids, the flashing tension of neck muscles, and a barely cracking voice."
• Bad: " Jurassic World's biggest flaw, a complete lack of relatable female characters, is only further underscored by a laughably unrealistic shot of our heroine running away from a dinosaur – in heels."
• Okay: "At the end of the day, Snowpiercer can't decide what kind of movie it wants to be. The attention to detail in fight scenes, where every weapon, lightbulb, and slick patch of ground is accounted for, doesn't translate to an ending that seems powerful but ultimately says little of substance."

• Does the film reflect on a current event or contemporary issue? It could be the director's way of engaging in a bigger conversation. Look for ways to relate the content of the film to the "real" world.
• Does the film seem to have a message, or does it attempt to elicit a specific response or emotion from the audience? You could discuss whether or not it achieves its own goals.
• Does the film connect with you on a personal level? You could write a review stemming from your own feelings and weave in some personal stories to make it interesting for your readers.

Composing Your Review

• When you name characters in your plot summary, list the actors' names directly afterward in parenthesis.
• Find a place to mention the director's name and the full movie title.
• If you feel you must discuss information that might "spoil" things for readers, warn them first.

• Cinematography: " Her is a world drenched in color, using bright, soft reds and oranges alongside calming whites and grays that both build, and slowly strip away, the feelings of love between the protagonists. Every frame feels like a painting worth sitting in."
• Tone: "Despite the insane loneliness and high stakes of being stuck alone on Mars, The Martian's witty script keeps humor and excitement alive in every scene. Space may be dangerous and scary, but the joy of scientific discovery is intoxicating."
• Music and Sound: " No Country For Old Men's bold decision to skip music entirely pays off in spades. The eerie silence of the desert, punctuated by the brief spells of violent, up-close-and-personal sound effects of hunter and hunted, keeps you constantly on the edge of your seat."
• Acting: "While he's fantastic whenever he's on the move, using his cool stoicism to counteract the rampaging bus, Keanu Reeves can't quite match his costar in the quiet moments of Speed, which falter under his expressionless gaze."

• Keep your writing clear and easy to understand. Don't use too much technical filmmaking jargon, and make your language crisp and accessible.
• Present both the facts and your opinion. For example, you might state something such as, "The Baroque background music was a jarring contrast to the 20th century setting." This is a lot more informative then simply saying, "The music was a strange choice for the movie."

• Great: "In the end, even the characters of Blue Ruin know how pointless their feud is. But revenge, much like every taut minute of this thriller, is far too addictive to give up until the bitter end.""
• Bad: "Much like the oft-mentioned "box of chocolates", Forest Gump has a couple of good little morsels. But most of the scenes, too sweet by half, should have been in the trash long before this movie was put out."
• Okay: "Without the novel, even revolutionary concept, Boyhood may not be a great movie. It might not even be "good.” But the power the film finds in the beauty of passing time and little, inconsequential moments – moments that could only be captured over 12 years of shooting – make Linklater's latest an essential film for anyone interested in the art of film."

Polishing Your Piece

• Ask yourself whether your review stayed true to your thesis. Did your conclusion tie back in with the initial ideas you proposed?
• Decide whether your review contains enough details about the movie. You may need to go back and add more description here and there to give readers a better sense of what the movie's about.
• Decide whether your review is interesting enough as a stand-alone piece of writing. Did you contribute something original to this discussion? What will readers gain from reading your review that they couldn't from simply watching the movie?

Studying Your Source Material

• The title of the film, and the year it came out.
• The director's name.
• The names of the lead actors.

• Make a note every time something sticks out to you, whether it's good or bad. This could be costuming, makeup, set design, music, etc. Think about how this detail relates to the rest of the movie and what it means in the context of your review.
• Take note of patterns you begin to notice as the movie unfolds.
• Use the pause button frequently so you make sure not to miss anything, and rewind as necessary.

• Direction: Consider the director and how he or she choose to portray/explain the events in the story. If the movie was slow, or didn't include things you thought were necessary, you can attribute this to the director. If you've seen other movies directed by the same person, compare them and determine which you like the most.
• Cinematography: What techniques were used to film the movie? What setting and background elements helped to create a certain tone?
• Writing: Evaluate the script, including dialogue and characterization. Did you feel like the plot was inventive and unpredictable or boring and weak? Did the characters' words seem credible to you?
• Editing: Was the movie choppy or did it flow smoothly from scene to scene? Did they incorporate a montage to help build the story? And was this obstructive to the narrative or did it help it? Did they use long cuts to help accentuate an actor's acting ability or many reaction shots to show a group's reaction to an event or dialogue? If visual effects were used were the plates well-chosen and were the composited effects part of a seamless experience? (Whether the effects looked realistic or not is not the jurisdiction of an editor, however, they do choose the footage to be sent off to the compositors, so this could still affect the film.)
• Costume design: Did the clothing choices fit the style of the movie? Did they contribute to the overall tone, rather than digressing from it?
• Set design: Consider how the setting of the film influenced its other elements. Did it add or subtract from the experience for you? If the movie was filmed in a real place, was this location well-chosen?
• Score or soundtrack: Did it work with the scenes? Was it over/under-used? Was it suspenseful? Amusing? Irritating? A soundtrack can make or break a movie, especially if the songs have a particular message or meaning to them.

Expert Q&A

• If you don't like the movie, don't be abusive and mean. If possible, avoid watching the movies that you would surely hate. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Understand that just because the movie isn't to your taste, that doesn't mean you should give it a bad review. A good reviewer helps people find movie's they will like. Since you don't have the same taste in movies as everyone else, you need to be able to tell people if they will enjoy the movie, even if you didn't. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Structure is very important; try categorizing the different parts of the film and commenting on each of those individually. Deciding how good each thing is will help you come to a more accurate conclusion. For example, things like acting, special effects, cinematography, think about how good each of those are. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about writing, check out our in-depth interview with Marissa Levis .

• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/writing_about_film/terminology_and_starting_prompts.html
• ↑ https://www.spiritofbaraka.com/how-write-a-movie-review
• ↑ https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/9-tips-for-writing-a-film-review/
• ↑ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/writing-help/top-tips-for-writing-a-review
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/summary-using-it-wisely/
• ↑ https://twp.duke.edu/sites/twp.duke.edu/files/file-attachments/film-review-1.original.pdf
• ↑ https://www.dailywritingtips.com/7-tips-for-writing-a-film-review/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/writing_about_film/film_writing_sample_analysis.html
• ↑ https://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/onnyx.bei/dual-credit/movie-review-writing-guide
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-movie-review/
• ↑ https://gustavus.edu/writingcenter/handoutdocs/editing_proofreading.php
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ https://edusson.com/blog/how-to-write-movie-review

About This Article

To write a movie review, start with a compelling fact or opinion to hook your readers, like "Despite a great performance by Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump never overcomes its weak plot." Then, elaborate on your opinion of the movie right off the bat so readers know where you stand. Once your opinion is clear, provide examples from the movie that prove your point, like specific scenes, dialogue, songs, or camera shots. To learn how to study a film closely before you write a review, scroll down! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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What is a Film Review — Definition, Examples & Top Critics

I n cinema, film reviews hold a significant place, serving as a bridge between the film industry and viewers. They provide an analytical perspective that helps audiences decide what to watch and understand the nuances of a film. In this article, we will delve into the definition of a film review, its critical components, and shed light on some iconic film review writers who have significantly shaped the field.

Watch: Christopher Nolan's Best Films Ranked

Subscribe for more filmmaking videos like this.

What is Film Review in Cinema?

First, let’s define film review.

Film reviews hold a unique place in cinema acting as both promotional tools and critical analysis pieces. With the rise of platforms like Letterboxd and Rotten Tomatoes, they are becoming more relevant in the cinematic landscape.

FILM REVIEW DEFINITION

What is a film review.

A film review is a type of critique that provides an evaluation of a film, encompassing various aspects such as the plot, themes, direction, script, and performances. Originating in the early 20th century with the advent of cinema, film reviews have evolved from mere opinion pieces in newspapers to a significant form of journalistic writing. The primary purpose of a film review is to inform the reader about the film and offer an informed opinion about its various elements. It serves as a guide for viewers, helping them decide whether the film is worth their time and money.

Criteria for Movie Review:

Overview of the film, analysis of the plot and themes, evaluation of the script, direction, and acting, personal opinion and rating, movie review format, components of a good film review.

Film reviews are a blend of various vital components, each contributing to a comprehensive analysis. From evaluating performances and storytelling to dissecting technical aspects, a well-rounded review provides a holistic perspective. By examining these elements of a movie review format we can gain a deeper understanding of the film's impact and appreciate its artistic merit.

This includes a brief synopsis that sets the context without revealing any spoilers . The overview should pique the reader's interest and give them a sense of the film's storyline. Here is one of the greatest film critics, Roger Ebert, on what a film review should do. 

Roger Ebert What A Movie Review Should Do

This involves a deeper look into the narrative and the underlying themes of the film. It should explore the storyline's complexity, originality, and coherence.

This component assesses the technical aspects of the film, such as the screenplay , cinematography , direction, music, and performances. It also includes an assessment of how these elements contribute to the overall impact of the film. 

This is much more popular with the rise of film criticism on YouTube in which film critics can simultaneously play and dissect a scene for an audience. In this video by Nerdwriter1, Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood is dissected visually in a way that would be difficult or at least less effective without a video component.

One Way To Deconstruct There Will Be Blood

This is where the reviewer shares their personal view and overall impression of the film. It often includes a rating system, which can help readers quickly gauge the reviewer's opinion.

A good film review strikes a balance between objective analysis and personal perspective. It is also important that the review uses engaging language and style to hold the reader's attention.

What is Film Review Important For?

Influence of film reviews.

Film reviews have a significant impact on public opinion and can greatly influence the success of a film.  A positive review from a reputable critic can attract more viewers and increase the film's box office revenue. On the other hand, a negative review can dissuade audiences from watching the film.

Attracting Viewers

Positive reviews can generate buzz and attract a larger audience to the theaters. They serve as a powerful tool in building anticipation and interest among moviegoers. Take Rotten Tomatoes for example.

Many film goers opt to check the Rotten Tomatoes reviews of a film before they decide to watch or see it in cinema. 

While this can work well for some movies in attracting viewers, it can negatively impact other films. This is especially true with the way Rotten Tomatoes rating system works. For a great insight on to how the platform works and the possible problems with its ratings, check out the video below. 

The Problem With Rotten Tomatoes

Box office success.

Positive reviews often contribute to a film's box office success. When critics praise a movie, it can lead to increased ticket sales and financial profitability for the filmmakers.

Influence on Perception

Reviews shape how people perceive a film. Positive reviews create a positive perception, making viewers more likely to give the movie a chance. On the other hand, negative reviews can deter potential viewers and impact the film's overall reception.

Critical Acclaim

When a film receives critical acclaim from respected reviewers and publications, it can achieve iconic status. This recognition elevates the film's reputation and can lead to long-lasting popularity and cultural significance.

Parasite’s Historic Oscar Wins in 2020

Film reviews hold considerable sway in the film industry. They not only impact the number of viewers but also shape how a film is perceived and remembered.

Related Posts

• What is Cinematography? →
• Understanding Story Structure →
• How Does Rotten Tomatoes Work? →

Movie Review Example and Writers

Iconic film review writers.

The field of film criticism has been significantly influenced by several notable writers who have left a lasting impact on the industry. These writers, through their insightful analyses and thought-provoking perspectives, have shaped the way we perceive and appreciate films.

Their contributions have not only elevated the art of film criticism but have also enriched our understanding of cinema as a whole. 

Roger Ebert

Known for his acerbic wit and insightful commentaries, Ebert was one of the most influential film critics. His reviews, published in the Chicago Sun-Times for over four decades, were known for their accessible writing style and keen observations.

Pauline Kael

Writing for The New Yorker, Kael was known for her passionate and provocative reviews. She championed many underappreciated films and filmmakers, influencing public opinion and the course of American cinema.

Pauline Kael on Criticism

Andrew sarris.

A leading proponent of the auteur theory in America, Sarris's writings in The Village Voice and The New York Observer have had a profound impact on the way films are analyzed and appreciated.

Leonard Maltin

Renowned for his annual publication, "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide," Maltin's reviews are known for their succinctness and precision. His work has guided generations of moviegoers.

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide

These critics, with their unique perspectives and styles, have made enduring contributions to film criticism, influencing not just audiences but filmmakers as well.

Film reviews, like the movies themselves, are a form of art. They capture the essence of a film, dissect it, and present it to the audience in a refined form. With their insightful analysis, they help us, the viewers, to better understand and appreciate cinema. 

Remember, a review is not meant to replace or reflect your own judgment of a film but to complement and deepen your viewing pleasure. So, read, watch, and form your own judgment — because nothing compares to your own cinematic experience.

How Does Rotten Tomatoes Work?

As we delve deeper into the world of film reviews and their unique influence, let's turn our attention to a specific and influential platform. In the next article, we explore the intricacies of the Rotten Tomatoes ratings system.

Up Next: Rotten Tomatoes Explained →

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Breakout English

How to write a film review

Writing a review is an option in many different English language exams, and films are such an obvious choice for reviews, so knowing how to write a film review is pretty important. It’s a great topic for the classroom too. Everyone watches films and there is a lot of opportunity to teach vocabulary, either film-related vocabulary or film review adjectives. I like to start off a class about films with some chat, or my personal favourite, the Movie Music Quiz , which also now has an excellent Movie Picture Quiz version too.

The structure of a film review

Like any writing task, it’s essential to know the structure of a film review before you start writing. A basic film review template shows you how to write a film review using a simple structure. Film reviews for First (FCE) and Advanced (CAE) Cambridge exams, as well as Trinity ISE exams, should all use a 4 paragraph structure. Another thing to remember is that your review should always have a title, and that title should include the name of the film.

• Introduction – Essential details and mini-summary
• Summary – A description of the film and some important details
• Analysis – An evaluation of different elements
• Conclusion – Your opinion and a recommendation

Introduction

In the introduction of a film review, it is crucial to mention the film title and the names of the director and the main actors. A brief summary of the film’s plot and background information can also be included, but it should not give away too much detail. The introduction should engage the reader and entice them to continue reading the review. Additionally, it is important to mention the genre and target audience of the film, which will give the reader an idea of what to expect.

In the summary section, the film review should give a comprehensive but concise description of the film, focusing on the plot, characters, and any significant events. The summary should be written in a way that does not give away the ending or spoil the film for the reader. It is important to maintain objectivity and not include personal opinions in this section. This section should provide enough detail for the reader to have a clear understanding of the film without giving too much away.

The analysis section is where the reviewer can showcase their critical skills and provide an in-depth evaluation of the film. The review should examine various elements of the film such as the script, direction, cinematography, acting, and special effects. You could also make a comparison to similar films in the same genre. The analysis should be written in an objective style with the opinion only showing through the language used.

In the conclusion, the reviewer should give their personal opinion of the film, summarising their thoughts on its strengths and weaknesses. They should also consider the target audience and whether they believe the film will appeal to them. Finally, the reviewer should provide a clear recommendation. The conclusion should be concise, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the reviewer’s overall opinion of the film.

Using adjectives in reviews

Reviews are a great way to show off your language with impressive adjectives. If you read a film review in a newspaper or magazine, you’ll notice that the reviewer rarely, if ever, gives an explicit direct opinion. However, their opinion of the film is always crystal clear. This is through the use of adjectives.

Many adjectives have a clear connotation. They are either perceived as positive or negative. Compare these two examples. Which one is a positive description and which is negative?

• It’s a first-rate experience with an imaginative plot and a star-studded cast.
• The second-rate writing combined with weak performances is typical of this director’s work.

When using adjectives in a film review, it is important to choose words that accurately convey the reviewer’s opinion. Adjectives with strong connotations, either positive or negative, can be very effective in expressing the reviewer’s thoughts about the film. However, it is also important to use a variety of adjectives to avoid repetition and keep the review interesting. The use of adjectives can also help to paint a picture of the film, allowing the reader to get a sense of its atmosphere and tone.

The materials

Many exams, such as the Cambridge First (FCE) and Advanced (CAE) exams, as well as Trinity ISE exams, require students to write a film review as part of their writing task. These materials will provide students with a solid understanding of the structure of a film review and help them to develop their writing skills. This will give them the confidence they need to write a review that meets the requirements of the exam and impresses the examiner.

The materials will help you learn how to write an introduction, summary, analysis, and conclusion of a film review. You will also see a range of useful adjectives that you can use to express your opinions in their reviews. Finally, you will get an opportunity to practise writing film reviews, which will help you to develop your skills. Then you can check your answers with the samples provided in the answer key. Whether you’re preparing for an exam or just looking to improve your writing skills, these materials will provide you with everything you need to write a great film review.

1 thought on “How to write a film review”

Interesting and useful material to be used in class. thanks!

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How to Write a Film Review: Preparation, Steps, Examples

• by Anastasiya Yakubovska
• 06.10.2022 10.05.2024
• How to write ...

How to write a film review (true, professional, and comprehensive) and not be limited to the phrase “What a great movie!”? In this article, you will find answers to the next questions:

• How long is a movie review? 
• How many paragraphs does a movie review have? 
• Features of the Film Review 
• Functions of the Movie Review 
• How to Write a Film Review: Preparation for Writing 
• 10 Questions You Need to Answer Before You Start Writing a Movie Review 
• How to Write and Structure a Film Review: Step by Step 

What Is a Film Review?

A film review is a critical judgment or discussion that informs about the release of a new film and contains its analysis, assessment, summary, as well as personal impressions and experiences after watching.

How long is a movie review?

On average, the length of a film review is about 1000 words.

How many paragraphs does a movie review have?

It is recommended that the film review should consist of 5-7 paragraphs.

Read also article “How to Write a Book Review: Step by Step and Examples”.

Features of the Film Review

A film review is a persuasive piece of writing, it has some features as:

• A less formal style of writing. 
• You need to write objectively about the film. 
• But, on the other hand, movie reviews contain personal thoughts and feelings. 
• The film review’s audience is wider and more diverse. 

Movie reviews can be written by two groups of reviewers: professional critics and ordinary consumers. Therefore, the text of the review will differ. In the first case, when the reviewer is a professional critic, he will describe the movie instead of evaluating it. While consumer critics mostly write from a personal perspective. 

What is the main purpose of a film review?

The main purpose of a film review is to inform readers about the film (what can expect from it) and to help them determine if they want to watch the movie. 

Functions of the Movie Review

The film review performs several functions at once: it informs, analyzes, persuades, and entertains. If you can include all of these points in your review, then you will have an excellent result in the end. 

How to Write a Film Review: Preparation for Writing

Writing a review is, of course, a creative process, but you should not forget about the analytical approach to creating a convincing and high-quality text. You must take the work responsibly, which we will do now.

To write a professional film review, you first need to complete the following preparation steps:

• Of course, the first step is to find a film, if it has not been previously chosen by the manager/client/boss. There will be more chances to write a good review if the film was liked by both – film critics and you personally.
• Watch the movie at least 2-3 times. After the first viewing, you will get a general impression of the picture, and try to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the film. Pay attention to the details the next time you watch it: the sound, the actor’s play, the editing, the plot. 
• If you have difficulty understanding the events covered in the film (for example, historical), be sure to find additional information and research the topic.
• If after two viewings you still do not have a final assessment of the film in the form of a brief thesis, watch the film again. You can look at other works of the director who worked on this film, this will help you determine his characteristic style. Also, as an option, you can look at the game of actors in other films (for comparison).
• When watching a movie, take notes: key scenes, interesting plot twists, inconsistencies, details, and quotes. Then, based on them, you can build a review text, and a good quote can become an excellent epigraph.
• Find information about the filming: location, duration, season, details about the filming process, difficulties the production team faced, casting, etc. Such information will make the review more attractive to readers.
• If the film is nominated for awards and prizes, please include this information in your film review. For a potential viewer, such an assessment of the film will be a weighty argument in the direction of -> compulsory viewing.

10 Questions You Need to Answer Before You Start Writing a Movie Review

• Does the film split into multiple parts? A sequel, prequel, or one of the movie series? 
• What is the film genre (action, comedy, historical, drama, fantasy, Western, political, thriller, gangster, horror, tragicomedy, romance, sports, mystery, science fiction)? Is the movie based on real or fictional events?
• Did the screenplay writer create an exciting plot?
• Is the rhythm of the film slow and quiet, heavy and static, or chaotic and frantic?
• What is the film’s rating according to the MPAA? ( G – General Audiences. All ages admitted. PG – Parental Guidance Suggested. PG-13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned. R – Restricted. Under 17 requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian. NC-17 – Adults Only.) 
• Are there any films with a similar/same theme? Sometimes it is worth mentioning some of them in a review, as a comparison.
• How can you characterize the work of a cinematographer? How accurately are the most expressive compositional, lighting solutions, as well as camera angles, selected and embodied?
• Is the film entertaining or covers a serious themes?
• Was the casting successful? Did all the actors cope with their roles?
• Is the atmosphere of the film tense, mysterious, sinister, relaxed, or romantic?

The answers to all of the above questions will help you understand how to write a film review, and above all, create a draft version of your future review. But, of course, this is not enough for the final result.

How to Write and Structure a Film Review: Step by Step

Writing a film review is a long and complicated process. Therefore, it is better to break it down into stages and move step by step. This will help you not to get lost and not get confused in the details.

• The catchy introduction.

The introductory part of the review should contain important information about the film: title, director, release date, and genre. 

You can mention nominations and awards, as well as indicate the box office (if the numbers are impressive) and the cast. 

In addition to “technical” aspects and a simple presentation of the plot, it is necessary to express your impression of the film in the form of a thesis, for example, to tell:

• about the connection of the film’s central idea with current events and social problems;
• about the similarity of the film’s plot with a personal life situation, personal experience, and feelings;
• about the connection of technical elements (lighting, sound, editing) with the theme of the film.

2. Pass the verdict.

Do not torment the reader and express your opinion about the film in the first paragraphs of the review.

You should not leave all the most interesting “for later”. If you decide to give a final assessment of the film at the end of the review, what are the chances that the reader will read to this end?

3. Write a summary of the plot.

Choose 4-5 main events.

Avoid the film’s ending and spoilers. Keep the intrigue. If you want to spoil and share an unusual story development, warn the reader about this.

4. Bring the feelings.

In addition to presenting the plot of the film, you should add emotions to the text of the review and show what you felt while watching it.

5. Define the main purpose of the movie. 

Perhaps the film’s purpose is hidden in its plot. Or maybe the film does not pretend to solve global problems at all. Perhaps the film is entertaining, and this is its advantage – it is relaxed and simple.

Sometimes the main idea of a serious and deep film can be found in an interview with a film crew, a screenwriter, or a director.

6. Add some details of the filmmaking process. 

It is important to know the measure and not to overdo it with the terminology. Here’s what you can write about:

• Cinematography: visual mood, lighting elements, shot sizes and widths, camera angles, etc. 
• Sound. The main goal is to create the necessary atmosphere in the film. Sound in movies includes music, dialogue, sound effects, ambient noise, background noise, and soundtracks. 
• Editing is the creation of a finished motion picture from many shot scenes. A film editor must creatively work with the layers of images, story, dialogue, music, pacing, as well as the actors’ performances to effectively “re-imagine” and even rewrite the film to craft a cohesive whole.
• Mise-en-scène (from French – placement on the stage) is the mutual arrangement of the actors and their environment on the set, natural or pavilion. Mise-en-scene includes landscapes, visual effects, the psychological state of the characters, etc.

7. The deep meaning.

You may be able to spot specific symbolic items, repetitive moments, or key phrases that give depth to the film.

8. Give examples.

It is not enough to say “ an excellent game of actors ”. Explain what exactly caught your attention (appearance, facial expressions, costumes, or movements of the actor). 

9. A convincing conclusion.

Write about the moments in the film that made the biggest impression on you. Share a recommendation. To whom and why do you advise to watch this movie?

10. Reread the review text several times .

Edit, and correct mistakes that can spoil the impression even from a professionally written film review.

Examples of Film Reviews

To consolidate the received information, let’s move from theory to practice. Below are two examples of film reviews.

Apocalypse Now

Review by Roger Ebert

Francis Ford Coppola’s film “Apocalypse Now” was inspired by Heart of Darkness, a novel by Joseph Conrad about a European named Kurtz who penetrated to the farthest reaches of the Congo and established himself like a god. A boat sets out to find him, and on the journey the narrator gradually loses confidence in orderly civilization; he is oppressed by the great weight of the jungle all around him, a pitiless Darwinian testing ground in which each living thing tries every day not to be eaten.

What is found at the end of the journey is not Kurtz so much as what Kurtz found: that all of our days and ways are a fragile structure perched uneasily atop the hungry jaws of nature that will thoughtlessly devour us. A happy life is a daily reprieve from this knowledge.

A week ago I was in Calcutta, where I saw mile upon square mile of squatter camps in which hundreds of thousands live generation after generation in leaky huts of plastic, cardboard and scrap metal, in poverty so absolute it is impossible to see any hope of escape. I do not mean to equate the misery of those hopeless people with a movie; that would be indecent. But I was deeply shaken by what I saw, and realized how precious and precarious is a happy life. And in such a mood I watched “Apocalypse Now” and came to the scene where Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) tells Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen) about “the horror.”

Kurtz is a decorated hero, one of the best soldiers in the Army, who has created a jungle sanctuary upriver inside enemy territory, and rules Montagnard tribesmen as his private army. He tells Willard about a day when his Special Forces men inoculated the children of a village against polio: “This old man came running after us and he was crying, he couldn’t see. We went back there, and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile, a pile of little arms. . . .”

What Kurtz learned is that the Viet Cong were willing to go to greater lengths to win: “Then I realized they were stronger than we. They have the strength, the strength to do that. If I had 10 divisions of those men, then our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling, without passion, without judgment.” This is the “horror” that Kurtz has found, and it threatens to envelop Willard, too.

The whole movie is a journey toward Willard’s understanding of how Kurtz, one of the Army’s best soldiers, penetrated the reality of war to such a depth that he could not look any longer without madness and despair.

The film has one of the most haunting endings in cinema, a poetic evocation of what Kurtz has discovered, and what we hope not to discover for ourselves. The river journey creates enormous anticipation about Kurtz, and Brando fulfills it. When the film was released in 1979, his casting was criticized and his enormous paycheck of $1 million was much discussed, but it’s clear he was the correct choice, not only because of his stature as an icon, but because of his voice, which enters the film from darkness or half-light, repeating the words of T.S. Eliot’s despairing “The Hollow Men.” That voice sets the final tone of the film.

Film review: example

Diana biopic Spencer wobbles between the bold and the bad

By Nicholas Barber

You may feel that you’ve had enough of Princess Diana’s story on the big and small screens, what with Naomi Watts taking the role in Oliver Hirschbiegel’s awful Diana in 2013, and then Emma Corrin playing her in the most recent season of The Crown, with the mantel set to be passed in Elizabeth Debicki in the next run. But, to give it its due, Pablo Larraín’s Spencer marks the only time the People’s Princess has been shown delivering a lecture on Anne Boleyn to an old coat that she has just stolen off a scarecrow, and then having a chat with the ghost of Boleyn herself shortly afterwards. The Chilean director doesn’t go in for conventional biopics, as anyone who has seen Jackie (starring Natalie Portman) or Neruda will know. And here again he has gone for a surreal portrait of his iconic subject. The snag is that his experimental art house spirit keeps bumping up against the naffness and the familiarity of British films set in stately homes, so his psychodrama ends up being both ground-breaking and rib-tickling.

It’s set over three days in 1991, from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, at Sandringham House in Norfolk. The rest of the Royal Family has arrived for their holiday in a fleet of chauffeur-driven cars, but Diana (Kristen Stewart) rocks up on her own in a Porsche convertible, having taken a detour to visit the aforementioned scarecrow: her dilapidated childhood home, from the days when she was Lady Diana Spencer, is a field or two away from Sandringham. Her late arrival concerns the sympathetic head chef (Sean Harris) and bothers the Scottish army veteran (Timothy Spall) who has the job of ensuring that everything goes the way the Queen wants it to. Her Majesty’s insufferable Christmas traditions include weighing all the guests when they arrive and when they leave to ensure that they’ve been sufficiently gluttonous. But Diana is in no mood for festive japes. Her Christmas present from Charles (Jack Farthing) – a necklace with pearls the size of golf balls – is identical to the one he has given his mistress. And the whisper in the servants’ quarters is that the Princess is “cracking up”. The filmmakers apparently agree.

Steering away from the same territory as The Crown, Larraín and Knight don’t fill the film with awkward meals and heated arguments (although there are one of each of those). Prince Charles does some grumbling, but the Queen has hardly any lines and Prince Philip has none: they are closer to menacing waxworks than people. For most of the time, Diana is either talking to her young sons, her trusted personal dresser (Sally Hawkins) or to herself. It’s interesting, this lack of dramatic conflict and discernible plot, but it can leave the film seeming as listless and purposeless as Larraín’s Diana herself. Her favourite occupation is to wander around the estate until she finds something that has an ominous symbolic connection to her, and then make an unconvincing speech about it. Ah, pheasants! So beautiful, yet bred to be killed!

Stewart is such inspired casting that she makes all this eccentric nonsense watchable. She’s been practising Diana’s signature moves for years – dipped head, hunched shoulders – and she certainly knows what it’s like to put up with intrusive tabloid photographers. She also looks suitably fabulous in the many outfits that Diana is required to wear over the long weekend. And unlike Watts’s performance in 2013, hers doesn’t seem distractingly like an impersonation. Mind you, she delivers all her lines in little bursts of hissing whispers, so if you don’t see it with English subtitles, as its first audiences did at the Venice Film Festival, you might not understand more than half of what she says.

The effect is a bit odd, but there are lots of odd things in the film, not least the tone and the pacing, which lurch around like someone who’s had too much after-dinner port. Between Jonny Greenwood’s squalling jazz soundtrack, the hallucinations, and the blush-making sexual confessions, Spencer is a folly that wobbles between the bold and the bad, the disturbingly gothic and the just plain silly. In some scenes, it’s heart-rending in its depiction of Diana’s self-harm and bulimia. In others, it’s almost as risible as the Diana biopic from 2013, and that’s saying something. I didn’t know any more about Diana afterwards than I did beforehand, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. This is a film that echoes The Shining at the start and 2001: A Space Odyssey at the end. The Crown Christmas Special it ain’t.

Sources of information: 

• “The Film Analysis Handbook” by Thomas Caldwell. 
• https://payforwriting.com/writing/creating-review/how-to-write-movie-review
• www.mtsu.edu
• www.sciencedirect.com/science
• Image:   freepik.com
• Poster from the film Apocalypse Now

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The pelican brief.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 1 Review
• Kids Say 1 Review

Common Sense Media Review

Tense Grisham-based thriller is well cast but talky.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Pelican Brief is relatively free of foul language, violence, or explicit sex. But one brief scene features a murder in a porno theater; the main character is shown in a heavy clinch with a boyfriend, and several characters are killed over the course of the film (though gore is at…

Why Age 14+?

Some profanity.

One brief scene features a murder in a porno theater.

Characters killed.

A hotel chain is mentioned.

Any Positive Content?

As in any political thriller, there are plenty of "bad guys."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Positive messages.

Parents need to know that The Pelican Brief is relatively free of foul language, violence, or explicit sex. But one brief scene features a murder in a porno theater; the main character is shown in a heavy clinch with a boyfriend, and several characters are killed over the course of the film (though gore is at a minimum). To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (1)
• Kids say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

Great Political Thriller

What's the story.

Based on the novel by John Grisham, THE PELICAN BRIEF follows the story of Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts), who gets more than she bargains for when she allows her law prof/boyfriend (Sam Shepard) to show a buddy in the FBI her paper presenting theories on the recent murders of two Supreme Court justices. Before too long, everyone who reads her "Pelican Brief" is bumped off. Some crooked powers that be decide Darby knows too much and should be killed too. Only Washington reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) can save her by exposing the villains.

Is It Any Good?

Grisham is known for delivering great big, bloated political thrillers; at 141 minutes, it shows in this mightily involved thriller. The Pelican Brief is low on colorful villains and memorable visuals and loaded with grim, grey scenes where characters are doing research or having conversations. The actors are well cast and effective. Viewers will appreciate the fact that the complex plot isn't dumbed down, though it's a rather disappointing letdown of a film from director Alan Pakula, who made the classic All the President's Men .

Due to its lack of onscreen violence, sex or nudity, the film is a good choice for families who like political thrillers with a minimum of adults-only features. However, the action is relatively slow-paced, the plot is complicated, and the characters are very talky, making this movie a bore for younger kids or those who require a lot of whizz-bang to stay interested.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the way that political thrillers dramatize events that could have happened in real life. Conversations on the role of the whistle-blower, and the responsibility of citizens to speak up when they see wrongdoing, might also be sparked by this movie.

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 17, 1993
• On DVD or streaming : August 22, 1997
• Cast : Denzel Washington , Julia Roberts , Sam Shepard
• Director : Alan J. Pakula
• Inclusion Information : Black actors, Female actors
• Studio : Warner Independent
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 141 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : momentary language and some violence
• Last updated : June 24, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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What to watch next.

All the President's Men

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Proper Movie Review: Format Examples Included

• backlinkworks
• Writing Articles & Reviews
• October 19, 2023

writing a movie review can seem like a daunting task, especially if you’re unsure of the proper format or where to begin. However, with a step-by-step guide and some examples, you can easily craft a well-written and informative movie review. Whether you’re an aspiring film critic or simply want to share your thoughts on a movie you recently watched, this guide will help you navigate the process. So let’s dive in!

Step 1: Watch the Movie

Before you can begin writing your review, you need to watch the movie in its entirety. Take notes during the viewing, paying attention to key elements such as the plot, characters, cinematography, and overall theme.

Step 2: Introduction

Start your movie review with a brief introduction that includes the title of the film, the release date, and any relevant background information. This will provide readers with context before diving into your analysis. You can also add a personal anecdote or interesting fact to engage your audience from the beginning.

Step 3: Summary

Provide a concise summary of the movie’s plot without revealing any spoilers. Keep IT brief and focus on the main storyline, highlighting the key events that drive the narrative forward. This section should give readers a general idea of what the movie is about.

Step 4: Evaluation

Now IT ‘s time to evaluate the movie based on your personal opinion. Here, you can discuss the strengths and weaknesses you observed while watching the film. Did the plot captivate you? Were the performances convincing? Was the cinematography visually appealing? These are some of the aspects you can touch upon in your evaluation.

Step 5: Analysis

Delve deeper into the movie’s elements by analyzing its various aspects. This can include discussing the director’s style, character development, pacing, dialogue, or any other significant factors. Use evidence from the film to support your analysis and provide specific examples to illustrate your points.

Step 6: Conclusion

Wrap up your review by summarizing your overall thoughts and feelings about the movie. This is your opportunity to provide a clear recommendation to your readers. Would you encourage them to watch the film? Or do you think IT ‘s better to skip IT ? Your conclusion should leave no doubts about where you stand.

Movie Review Examples:

To help you understand the format better, here are two examples of movie reviews:

“Parasite” (2019) directed by Bong Joon-ho, is an engrossing masterpiece that seamlessly blends genres and tackles social issues in an innovative way. Set in South Korea, the film follows the poor Kim family as they infiltrate the lives of the affluent Park family. With its exquisite cinematography and stellar performances, “Parasite” keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Joon-ho’s directorial vision shines through, and the film’s biting social commentary lingers long after the credits roll. I highly recommend “Parasite” to anyone seeking a thought-provoking and suspenseful cinematic experience.

“The Avengers” (2012) directed by Joss Whedon, is an action-packed superhero extravaganza that brings together Marvel’s beloved characters with remarkable success. The film combines impressive visual effects, witty dialogue, and well-choreographed fight sequences to create an entertaining experience. However, the plot feels somewhat predictable and lacks depth, leaving little room for character development. While “The Avengers” is enjoyable for fans of the genre, IT falls short in delivering a truly captivating narrative.

1. How long should a movie review be?

There is no strict rule regarding the length of a movie review. However, aiming for around 500-800 words is a good guideline. Remember, IT is important to be concise while providing enough detail to support your opinions.

2. Can I include spoilers in my review?

IT ‘s best to avoid spoilers in your review, as they can ruin the movie-watching experience for others. If you feel the need to discuss a spoiler, clearly indicate IT beforehand or, better yet, consider writing a separate section marked as a “spoiler alert.”

3. Is IT necessary to write a conclusion in my movie review?

Yes, a conclusion is essential as IT provides a definitive end to your review and allows you to summarize your thoughts and recommendations clearly.

4. How should I present my movie review?

If you’re writing the review for a blog or a Website , you can format IT as an HTML article like this one. Otherwise, stick to a traditional essay format with paragraphs and proper punctuation.

writing a movie review doesn’t have to be intimidating. With a structured approach and attention to detail, you can craft a compelling review that informs and engages your readers. So grab a pen, a notepad, and start watching some films – IT ‘s time to share your thoughts with the world!

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Quick Guide on How to Write a Movie Review Essay

What Is a Movie Review

The internet has revolutionized the realm of film criticism. No matter a movie's level of quality, it is always worth analyzing. Despite the growing number of individuals attempting to write about movies, few are successful. Most people do not provide insightful analysis, instead simply state how much they liked or disliked the film.

A movie criticism, usually composed by a professional in film studies, takes a comprehensive look at the film from a historical, social, political, or theoretical standpoint. This is unlike the opinion or suggestion given in a movie review, which is shorter and more concise.

A remarkable aspect of a good film review is that it doesn't just rate the movie but provides explicit views that form the critique's basis. This form of writing, like crafting essays, research papers, and term papers, should be insightful and draw the reader in quickly. It's important to discuss the reputation of the lead actors and directors and to write about what you expected and if they were met. The reviewer must explain a story's development without recalling major plot points and endings. The review must be concise, engaging, and should involve metaphors, specific words, analogies, etc.

Movie Review Purpose

Most film reviews are intended to guide readers in deciding whether to view, rent, or purchase the film. They should provide the necessary information to aid readers in deciding without divulging any fundamental details, such as the storyline or any surprises. This paper is common in schools because the lecturer wants to evaluate the student's ability to think critically and report the event easily for others to understand.

Movie reviews typically present a brief summary of the film's storyline. They provide readers with an overview of the characters, relationships, and scenarios but do not convey the complete narrative. Perusing the review should be different from seeing the movie. Nonetheless, feel free to highlight the essential moments or pivotal points that make the film worthwhile viewing.

Our college essay writing service has put together some advice on composing a movie review essay like a real critic, so let's explore the article further!

How to Write a Movie Review: Movie Review Outline

The structure is key when it comes to the quality of your paper. Don't neglect the power of a good outline, no matter what paper you're writing. Outlines help you stay on track and make sure your paper flows well.

Taking the time to arrange your ideas before starting to write is an effective way to save time further down the line. With a well-structured plan already in place, you won't have to worry about other elements. This will also make the writing process less stressful. Here is a guide on how to organize your movie review outline:

How Do You Start a Movie Review Essay: Introduction

The introductory paragraph is the first obvious step in crafting a movie review essay outline. Here, you want to quickly captivate the reader. Deliver your viewpoint instantly and make it unambiguous. Don't leave the audience wondering whether you enjoyed the film. Tell them right off the bat so you have time to justify your assessment throughout the remainder of the process.

In the introduction movie review should also describe your thesis. Develop the main concept for your essay that you can support using your perceptions of the movie's various aspects. The reader should be able to tell from this statement if you thought the film was fantastic, awful, or simply alright. By including a thesis statement, you may move your analysis beyond the plot synopsis phase into the movie critique category, which is considered a separate creative process.

Crafting Your Essay Movie Review Analysis

According to our research paper service , film analysis is similar to building a case. You're attempting to influence the reader to follow your recommendation to watch or disregard the film. So, you must ensure your essay movie review will be convincing. Giving instances that demonstrate the validity of your personal opinion is the only method to do this. If you find any dialogue in the movie that you think best exemplifies whether the work is strong or not, utilize quotes. This also applies to all of the movie's artistic decisions. But, just because a movie's narrative isn't strong or engaging doesn't indicate the rest of the film is worthless. Carefully highlight how some factors might undermine the movie in your explanation.

The movie's plot is only one component and shouldn't dominate the overall piece. The following are the important aspects to include in your movie review structure:

Cinematography - Cinematography covers much more than simply camera angles. It includes how the picture is lit, how it moves, appears, and what lenses are used. Here you can try the following analysis: 'Warm, gentle colors are used throughout the film, combined with soothing whites and grays, to simultaneously create and gradually tear away the characters' romantic sentiments for one another. There is a painting-like quality to each image.'

Editing - The editing is arguably the absolute star of what creates a good movie review example. It affects both the duration and the flow of a movie. Without effective editing, there would be uncomfortable gaps between pictures and many errors.

Costuming - The clothing the characters wear is called a costume, but there are a number of things to consider while evaluating movie costumes. You should be able to decide if the outfits suit the characters and the movie's atmosphere.

Casting and Acting - Finding the ideal performers to bring characters to life is the goal of casting. This sometimes entails seeing performers portray both familiar personas and figures who are entirely at odds with who they are. Casting, therefore, involves more than just finding talented performers. You can assess the acting in the following way: 'Even though he excels while on the go, his stoic behaviorism causes him to fall short of his co-star during calm scenes where he keeps a blank look on his face.'

Once you have finished analyzing the acting, directing, cinematography, setting, etc., wrap up with concise, stimulating wording to sustain readers' attention. Don't forget to provide a few examples to support your statements about the film.

Concluding Your Essay Movie Review

Finalize your review by coming full circle. Close the review by returning to your introductory fact or thesis. Give your readers a refresher on the movie's most intriguing aspects. It's important to remember that before choosing a movie, viewers check reviews. Finish with a statement indicating whether it is worthwhile for them to view. Be specific about who this movie will be more fascinating to and why in your suggestions. Remember that your ending is your last shot at influencing your audience, so use it wisely.

No matter the kind of movie review you have to complete, our professional specialists are willing to help you. Directly forward your needs to our research paper service and get it done quickly.

Need Help With MOVIE REVIEW WRITING?

No matter what type of movie review you want, our qualified specialists are ready to assist you.

Short Movie Review Form

If you are currently working on a new or old movie review, reading our suggestions should be sufficient to help you earn an A. So what if you'll be writing many reviews in the future? In this situation, we advise you to develop a uniform movie review template, which will enable you to save time and complete your upcoming projects successfully.

So, how to write a movie review template, you may ask? Well, our essay helper prepared a simple yet great movie review template you may use as a foundation for your own writing if you need some help getting started:

Example Papers

Once you know how to review a movie and learn the most valuable tips to handle this assignment, it is time to look at some movie review examples to get you on the right track.

Check out the following pieces to see which of these movie review essay examples you might want to keep at hand when working on your own assignment:

Helpful Tips on Writing Movie Reviews

Here are some extra helpful tips to keep in mind when unsure how to write a movie review essay:

• Add Your Own Personal Feel to Your Movie Critique - You might not have much spare time for your pastime of reviewing. You won't be able to write a movie review, though, if you just wing it without reading what others have said. Make a note of the things that intrigued you, alarmed you, made you uncomfortable, or caused you to pause and consider something, and then use that list as the basis for your research.
• Develop a Distinctive Writing Style - Have an idol—it's good for you. You must be careful not to just paraphrase and duplicate what they say without adding your own original viewpoint. Instead, in order to stand out from the throng, you must discover your own voice. When writing movie reviews, you should also have a distinct writing style.
• Include Extensive Information -Mention the film's photographer, special effects designer, and director. Your review might be significantly impacted by this. Then you may list all the memorable movie moments that also stuck with you.
• Voice Your Views and Back Up Your Criticism - Give your own assessment of the film. Make sure you have evidence to support your criticisms. Use the movie's details that most shocked or humiliated you. Review genuine information rather than merely expressing your opinions without supporting details.

Final Thoughts

Composing a good movie review essay sample is easy if you follow this article's main steps and techniques. Furthermore, we strongly believe that this guide will assist you in achieving remarkable outcomes and ease your writing process. The staff at EssayPro is always available to provide a helping hand if you need a little additional push with movie review examples or even if it's simply coming up with a catchy essay title .

Order an essay and await excellent results! Contact our expert writers and ask them to ' write my essay for me ' – and they will ensure your academic success!

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FAQs on Writing an Essay Movie Review

Here are the most frequently asked questions on how to write a movie review. We provided extra details on movie analysis to simplify writing film reviews.

What are the 6 Important Things to Include in a Film Review?

How long should a movie review be, what are the 5 c's in film.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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How to Write a Movie Review: 10 Essential Tips

As long as there have been films, there have been film critics. Starting with the early days of cinema, where reviews appeared in newspapers and magazines as brief, descriptive pieces, as filmmaking evolved as an art form, so did the role of the critic. James Agee, André Bazin, and Pauline Kael shaped the discourse around cinema, and today, famous film critics like the iconic Roger Ebert , The New York Times’s A.O. Scott , and The New York Times’s Manohla Dargis continue to leave an indelible mark on the world of cinema.

With the rise of the internet, film criticism now encompasses a wide range of voices and perspectives from around the globe. Sites like Letterboxd make it possible for anyone to write short-form reviews on film. Even stars like The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri have accounts and share opinions on the latest box-office hits.

How to Write a Movie Review

Today, contemporary YouTube and TikTok critics such as Red Letter Media , deepfocuslens , and DoMo Draper don’t just write film reviews, they shoot videos and skits. Through their creative formats, they offer refreshing and unique perspectives while building communities of diehard film and television enthusiasts. Whether you choose to write reviews for your own blog, other websites, or social media channels, by learning how to write a movie review, any aspiring filmmaker can start to watch films intentionally. 

@domodraperr Replying to @xsindeviltriggerx I’ll get right on that, Sir!🫡 #comments #movies #film #satire #fyp #mulan #disney ♬ I’ll Make a Man Out of You (feat. Black Gryph0n) – Cover – Samuel Kim

TikTok film critic “DoMo Draper” provides commentary on new and old films, often calling out racism, social injustice, misogyny, and prejudice.

While there’s no perfect approach to writing a review, there are best practices that every aspiring reviewer should consider.

Here are ten tips on writing a compelling piece.

1. Watch the film at least once.

For new reviewers, it’s impossible to capture everything after one viewing. Watching the film first, then watching to take notes, is an easy way to improve the quality of your final review. This will also make it easy to recall in-the-moment thoughts and reactions.

Take a review by Christian Blauvelt of Charlie Chaplin’s silent film The Circus , for example. Since the film does not have sound, properly critiquing the film requires close attention. Viewers have to pay attention to the various nuances in Chaplin’s performance, follow the story, and take in the cinematography. Regarding The Circus , Blauvelt writes, “The film lacks a conventional plot, but is rather a pearl necklace of strung-together episodes. ” The statement isn’t a criticism, but a keen observation likely gleaned from more than one viewing. 

So while every film reviewer has their own approach, many choose to watch a film more than once to deliver the best possible review. Image The Criterion Collection.

2. Express your opinions and support your criticism.

Professional reviewers do not shy away from sharing whether they thought a movie was good, bad, or indifferent. In a review for the film Mother!, reviewer Candice Frederick describes the film as “uncomfortable,” and “controversial,” helping viewers understand the tone of the movie. While Frederick seemed to enjoy the film, her honesty about how it would make audiences feel was vital in writing the review.

Be sure to back up these thoughts with specifics–a disappointing performance, beautiful cinematography, difficult material that leaves you thinking, and so on. Professional reviewers should express why and how they came to their criticism.

3. Consider your audience.

Are you writing for a fan site or a news outlet? Who will read your pieces, and what are their interests? Knowing who your readers are and where the review will be published can help you decide what elements of the movie to highlight. For example, take these two very different reviews for the film ‘Synecdoche, New York’.  

The first review was written by Alonso Duralde for The Today Show , and clocks in at around 500 words. The film focuses on the bullet points: characters, plot, and a concise review. The second review is over 3,000 words and published on the Critical Critics blog . This review goes into massive depth (and yes, includes spoilers) about the film, providing an incredible amount of analysis. The first review is tailored for the casual filmgoer, while the second is for cinephiles. Each review serves a different purpose.

It’s also a good idea to adjust your writing style to fit the target audience. For example, Alonso Duralde is a talented film reviewer and likely wrote the review to fit the tone of The Today Show site. Image via Director’s Library.

4. Talk about the acting.

When reviewing a film, it’s important to take space to discuss the performances. Does the film feature a seasoned actor in a new kind of role or a brilliant performance from a rising star? How was the acting? In a review by Brett Milam for the award-winning film Whiplash , he goes into rich detail about performances by both breakthrough actor Miles Teller and seasoned professional JK Simmons.

Regarding Teller, Milam writes, “This is a performance. This is art,” and about Simmons, “I found him fascinating to just look at.” Those are just small examples of the analysis he provides regarding their acting. As the film mostly focuses on the relationship between their two characters, Miles as the protagonist and JK as the antagonist, the review of the performances lends well to the plot of the film: student and teacher going head to head in an intense and determined showdown. 

Feedback about how well the actors handled the script, the dynamics in an ensemble, and so much more can help describe how the actors did in any given film.

5. Call out directors, cinematographers, and special effects.

Reviews that include highlights or missteps of directors, cinematographers, and costume designers can help provide support to your critiques. By providing specific examples of what worked, what surprised you, and what fell short of expectations, reviewers can write a well-thought-out review that goes beyond whether or not you liked it.

In a review for A Wrinkle in Time , Monique Jones artfully crafts a piece that diplomatically cites the missteps of the film. From analyzing the quality of the CGI to the camera techniques to inconsistencies in the rules of the fantasy universe, Jones fairly offers a critique that guides the filmmakers and crew on future endeavors. To write this type of review, it helps to have some knowledge of the filmmaking process so you can properly assess the screenwriting, cinematography, special effects, acting, and more. Image via Disney.

6. No spoilers!

The point of writing a movie review is to get people interested in seeing a movie. That’s why it’s absolutely best practice to not reveal spoilers in a film review. Film reviewer Robert Daniels approaches this creatively. In his review of Annihilation , he provides commentary on what would be considered spoilers. However, he places that part of the review at the bottom of the article under a bold header/image that warns the reader he’s about to spoil the film. For reviewers who want to dissect the entire film, this is a good way to both tease the film for anyone who hasn’t seen it and cater to people who want to know what the ending is.

Remember: the goal of any film review is to discuss the plot without revealing any twists or the ending of the film. 

7. Study the professionals.

As with all writing endeavors, the more you read, the better. However, with the modern landscape of film reviewing, which can go beyond writing and extend to content creation for social media platforms, there are a ton of reviewers to take notes from. First, determine what kind of reviewer you want to be, and what kind of medium you plan to deliver your reviews on. If you plan to post to Medium, for example, studying the reviewers already established on the site can be a great starting point.

Then, read film reviews for some of your favorite films. Determine which style of review you like and don’t like. Question why, and use your critical eye to consider why one reviewer has a hundred thousand followers and another only has two. If you’re looking to be featured on a website or a magazine, read the publications where you’d like your writing to appear as a template for your reviews, and don’t forget to read the submission guidelines. A few examples of film review professionals include Rotten Tomatoes , Roger Ebert , and Film Comment. 

8. Reread, rewrite, and edit.

While writing film critique is based on opinion, and follows the style of the reviewer, it’s still important to edit work. Writers should check for spelling, grammar, and readability. No matter how good a writer’s opinions are, they will not be taken seriously if the director’s name isn’t spelled correctly. Tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway Editor can be great for correcting and finding areas that need improvement. 

9. Find your voice.

The best reviewers have a distinct personality that comes across in their writing. Los Angeles Times film reviewer Carlos Aguilar wrote an impassioned piece about the film Beatriz at Dinner , going into a lot of detail about his experiences working in the film industry and his Mexican heritage. By sharing anecdotes about casual racism he’s experienced and connecting it to the film’s protagonist, and what she goes through, the review feels personal and relatable.

“If at a film festival – to which I’ve gotten access to because I’m a published writer – in a progressive city like Los Angeles, I must keep my guard up when people question my right to be there, then how are the voiceless supposed to feel safe, respected, or hopeful?” Aguilar writes. 

For new reviewers, developing this type of unique voice does not happen overnight, so take every opportunity to write as an opportunity to develop your style. Image via BBC.

10. Know your taste.

As a film reviewer, it can be helpful to identify your taste in film. By knowing specific preferences, strengths, and biases, reviewers can offer nuanced critiques that resonate with audiences and provide valuable guidance on which films they might enjoy. Additionally, it helps to maintain credibility and integrity as a reviewer by ensuring that assessments are authentic and reflective of personal cinematic sensibilities.

Try to explore various genres, directors, and themes to understand what resonates emotionally, intellectually, and aesthetically. Pay attention to the types of stories that engage you, which can help define your preferences.

Learn More About Filmmaking at NYFA

Film students with writing experience actually make great reviewers, as many of them are required to study a range of topics relating to film that can include cinematography, screenwriting, producing, and much more. Ready to build even more skills in filmmaking? Request more information about New York Film Academy’s filmmaking programs and workshops today!

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How to Write a Movie Review for College

Updated 26 Jul 2024

If you wish to know how to write a movie review, then you are on the right page. A movie review forms part of essays college students writes. While many cinema-loving students find it interesting, others don’t. A film review does not mean writing what happened in a film; instead, it involves doing a critical assessment of the same. Also, you can proof your paper instantly with the Edubirdie plagiarism tool .

What is a movie review? A movie review is a detailed analysis of a film or a documentary. It involves analysis, research, and reporting the writer’s views in a structured way. The writer assumes a position of educating readers whether they have watched the film or not. In fact, many people read movie reviews to decide whether they want to see a film or not.

A film review tests students' critical thinking and reporting skills. It also examines their dexterity in writing in a logical, concise, lucid, and creative manner. This post shall teach you to craft the best film review in your class without being redundant in writing , and you can find many interesting tips on how to write a movie review for college and movie reviews examples. Writing a movie review requires critical analysis and attention to detail, and if you need assistance, a literature review writing service can help you craft a comprehensive and insightful review.

How to Write a Movie Review Like a Professional Critic

Writing a movie review though challenging for some students can be quite easy. What you should know is that the format of presenting a review are the same which makes it an interesting task. Here we offer a step-by-step process of how to write a good film review or how to write an introduction for a movie review that any student can follow:

• Watch the movie: Before you can review any film, you must watch it. You cannot review a motion picture you have not watched. Therefore, for success watch the film at least twice. Note: do not watch it like you’re a regular moviegoer or movie enthusiast. Be focused and conscious through the film. Take notes if necessary.

You will need to take notes hence have a notebook and pen handy. Record all events and characters (major and minor). Try to be meticulous do not overlook anything.

• Research the movie: Watching the film should give you the overview and feel of the movie. With that, it should be easy and exciting to research the movie. The research augments what you have watched in the movie. In your research, you should find out who the filmmaker is, what prompted the making of the movie, the characterization, historical events the lead to the film, location, plot and so on.

If you are aware of the details behind the movie, the movie will be more understandable and engaging. Note also that if you do not understand the movie you cannot move to the next step which involves analysis. Try not to proceed to the next step unless you vividly understand the movie. If it entails watching it again until you fully get it, do it. The following should form part of your findings regarding the film:

• Title and year
• Names of the lead actors
• Name of the director
• Title of the book (if based on a book)
• Draft the review outline: Draft an outline with which you will write the review. The overview will help you organize your review concisely and logically. The outline is more like the skeletal frame on which the whole study will stand. A good draft will yield a perfect report, and the reverse is also true.

An outline enhances the quality of the film review, and it is essential you have your outline before you start writing. A sample outline looks like this:

1. Introduction

• Date released
• Background info

2. Summary of the story

3. Analysis of the plot elements

4. Creative elements

5. Opinions (add examples to back up your claims)

• Camera techniques
• Special effects and so on

6. Conclusion

• Analyze the movie: After fully understanding the movie, you can start its analysis. Critically evaluate the film from the beginning to the end, noting every detail. While analyzing, if you observed any confusing part, re-watch to grasp the idea portrayed there fully. After you fully understand it, then you are set to write the movie review. To write a decent analysis, you need to know how to write a film critique.
• Augment Your Review with Examples : While watching the movie, your observations should be supported with examples, i.e., mention scenes the event took place. If the plot is faulty, mention it but state examples to support that claim. You can also mention poorly developed characters evident in the movie and others. Everything you observed in the film must be noted.

Examples of notables include locations, faulty or beautiful dialogues, quotes that appeal to you, poorly made speeches, bloopers, editing errors and so on. Do take note that it is not enough to make general statements about how awesome or awful the movie is, you must support your claim with evidence in the film. That is why it is called a movie review and not opinion sampling interview about the movie.

• Comment on the originality of the movie: Finally mention the uniqueness of the film which you noticed in the one you’ve watched. But even if the movie happens to be a standard feature with conventional approaches, you can still mention this as well. A regular film is still a film.
• Write Your Review: With all the fact gathered above, you can now use the outline to write your film review. Make every part easy and enjoyable to read. Importantly, make the introduction engaging and captivating. You should go for a grand opening that will grab the attention of any reader. A good opening keeps the reader on the article.

Let us assume your introduction is watertight and engaging; any sloppy body will lose your reader. Hence, make the body informative and engaging. The review aims to reveal as much information as possible. Therefore, do your best to give all the details in the film to the reader. Engage your analytic mind.

Another essential part of the review is the closing or conclusion. Here you give your view about the movie with evidence revealed in the body. Connect the conclusion with the introduction creatively.

• Edit Your Final Draft: After writing your first version of the review, you can re-write the final one after editing. Also, you should check the final draft for spelling errors, grammar mistakes, and so on. Ensure sentences connects logically to each other and watch the format used. Make a final comparison of your work with the requirement by your professor or lecturer.

With the help of free word counter check the number of words required and cut them if more than needed but if not, add relevant information to make them up. Do not add irrelevant details for the sake of space. Ensure your final submitted draft is well edited, polished, plagiarism-free and presented in the recommended format or style.

Need more writing assistance?

Connect with our top writers and receive a movie review sample crafted to your needs.

Tips to Follow While Writing a Movie Review

Since a movie review essay requires dedication and time investment, you might want to know the special tips to get you through the assignment seamlessly. Do recall that perfect conclusion of this assignment will add to your grades, hence the need to take it seriously. If you wish to know How to write a movie critique easily, then this section will tell you that.

The useful tips you should consider are as follows:

• Watch the film at least two times
• If you have seen it before, make sure you re-watch it for the assignment.
• Watch the movie not as a moviegoer but with an analytic mindset of a professional reviewer
• Pay attention to details
• Take notes as you watch
• Don’t be in a rush - take your time, but be aware of the deadline
• Do not write out of the contest of your coursework
• Follow the requirements of your professor
• Use an outline to organize your work
• Start working on the body of your film review first and the introduction next
• Write an engaging introduction and a powerful closing.
• Never forget to edit your work.

Read also: How to write an editorial Essay: Useful Tips for Those Who Want To Perfect Their Skill 

Elements of a Professional Movie Review

One similar thing about these reviews is that they all should contain the same elements regardless of the genre. The elements of a movie review provide the structure on which you will base the analysis. A proper movie review format comprises the following components:

• The Title: It’s not enough that the movie title appears on the headline, it must appear in the review too. Mention it in the text and feature it in the introductory paragraph; there is no harm in doing that.
• The Storyline (Plot): The motion picture review itself refers to the summary of the movie. Present it in a concise way for people who are yet to watch it. When you are beginning to write a movie review, never have the mindset that your professor or any would-be reader has watched the movie. Therefore, never leave important points or events out. Your job is to elucidate the movie clearly to the reader: mention the faults observed, and the filmmaker’s brilliant points or downers.
• Filmmaker: What is a movie analysis without the filmmaker? Your review must feature him or her. Therefore, dedicate a paragraph to him, write about the kind of personality he or she is. Reveal the filmmaker's political stance (if relevant), background, the controversial life of the person (if he is one), etc. You can also use the opportunity to talk about other movies the director has worked on before now, and then connect it with the one under review.
• Significance to your class: Relate the content of the film or documentary to your course topic. Check its importance for historical accuracy. If the film is for history class, discuss any over-dramatization noticed in the act. However, if the film was based on a book you have reviewed in one of your classes, mention the connection between the book and the movie: state variances, comparisons and other elements present in the book that are missing in the film.
• Creative elements: Creative elements make or mar films, that is why filmmakers go out of their ways to add them to their movies. It is your job to state how these elements work in the plot and the film in general. For instance, comment on the effectiveness of the sound effect in enriching the viewing experience of the movie? Talk about the lighting, costume, makeup, colors, camera, etc.
• Actors: The cast carry the movie; without them, there is no movie. Your review should reveal if they acted well or poorly. State if their acting was realistic or not. Do not fail to mention if they have the skills and charisma to portray the role they played. You can also state if they were the right actors to play the role they did. Furthermore, you can suggest actors who could have played certain roles better than those in the film.

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Common Movie Review Mistakes You Should Avoid

After your arduous work of submitting your film report, you might be shocked to learn that your hard work received a query. You may wish to know why, well it could be because you commit any of the following common mistakes:

• Focusing on the wrong thing: Do not shift your focus. You might want to connect the film with some historical events, however, do not give unnecessary analysis or details that are not relevant to the movie under review. For instance, avoid giving the history of motion picture unless the film is about the development of the industry. Try and be focused.
• Alienating yourself from the review: You are the one writing the review, therefore, do not insert yourself in it. The review already has your name and signature on it so adding the possessive pronoun "I" should be discarded. The mistake most student make is writing in the first person, e.g., “I like the movie a lot, I admired the lead character,” and so on. Since the review exposes your understanding, opinions, likes, and dislikes, then it is unnecessary to insert yourself in it.
• Not doing your research: As said earlier, watching the movie is one side of the coin, you need to check out other details. Researching the film is highly critical because it would expound to you all the nitty-gritty details, not in the motion picture.
• Lack of evidence: In writing about a motion picture, you must substantiate any opinion or claim. You need to state your reason for liking, disliking, etc. of the film.
• Avoid irrelevant discussion: Do not start explaining issues not related directly with the motion picture you are analyzing.
• Unstructured review: Never write a movie review without structure, it would reveal you as an unorganized student. Hence structure your review properly by first creating the outline and organize your work.
• Avoid Generalization and be Precise: Never generalize ideas when you write a movie review. Avoid general statements like “a fantastic movie,” “beautiful set,” “excellent acting,” and such like. Support any comment you make with evidence from the film.
• Review lacking substance and analysis: Avoid writing a motion picture review that does not have substance or analysis. A review is a piece of educational literature, therefore, add intelligent analysis to it.

Movie Review Example from Top Writer

Here are a few examples of movie review topics to steer you in the right direction:

• Avatar Movie Review
• Beautiful Woman Movie Review
• Black Panther and its Global Significance
• In Pursuit of Happiness: Lessons to Learn
• iRobot: The Depiction of AI in the Future
• Matrix Movie Review
• Roots and Its Implication on the Life of the Black Men
• The Good, the Bad, the Ugly Movie Review
• The Last Holiday Movie Review and the Lesson of Living Life Too Cautiously
• Titanic Movie Review

Quick & Reliable Writing Help

As you can see, a movie review essay is an interesting paper to write. Recall that the whole point of a movie review is to inform the reader about the film and the ideas behind it. Also, it reflects your unbiased and objective view about the film. Adopt all our tips, and you shall submit a professional-looking report.

However, if you don't care about movies or still have issues coming to terms with all we have explained above, then contact us for help. At EduBirdie, our movie and book review writing service  are poised to help with your assignment and guarantee a high-quality review at an affordable price. With us, you shall learn how to do a movie review that will wow any professor.

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How to Write a Review That Stands Out: A Guide for English Learners

Writing an online review is a powerful way to share your experiences and help others make informed decisions.

This guide will help you understand how to write clear and effective reviews that offer valuable insights and help potential customers make decisions.

Things to consider before writing a review

What are you trying to achieve.

Before you start writing, think about what you want to achieve with your review. Are you trying to share a positive or negative experience? Do you want to provide valuable insights to help others? Do you just want to express your feelings?

Your review can influence a business’s online reputation and guide other customers, so be clear about your goal to make sure your review is helpful and effective.

How to format your review

Formatting your review properly is important to make sure it’s clear and easy to read. Start with a brief introduction that summarises your experience. Then, provide specific details about what you liked or didn’t like.

Use paragraphs to separate different points and make sure to proofread your review for any spelling or grammar mistakes. A well-formatted review shows your attention to detail and makes a stronger impact.

Consider your audience

Think about who will be reading your review. Are you addressing the company to provide feedback, or are you writing for other customers to help them make informed decisions?

Shape your language and specific details to suit your audience. For example, if you’re writing a review for other customers to read, focus on how the product or service met your needs and why you would highly recommend it (or not).

If you’re addressing the company, be sure to provide constructive feedback that could lead to improvements.

Types of reviews and how to write them

How to write a book review.

When writing a book review, include specific details about the plot, characters, and writing style. Mention what you liked or disliked and why. Your insights can have a significant impact on other readers.

Book review example sentences:

• “The author’s descriptive writing made the scenes come alive.”
• “I didn’t enjoy the book because it was slow and uneventful.”
• “The plot was engaging and full of unexpected twists, keeping me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story.”

How to write a movie review

A good movie review should talk about the story, acting, and direction. Share your positive or negative thoughts and provide details. This helps others decide if they want to watch the movie.

Movie review example sentences:

• “The actors delivered outstanding performances.”
• “The direction was sloppy and uninspired, lacking any clear vision or creativity, which made the movie difficult to follow and unenjoyable to watch.”
• “The story was captivating from start to finish.”

How to write a product review

In a product review, describe how the product or service worked for you. Mention any customer service experiences. Be honest and include both pros and cons to give a balanced view. Good reviews are clear and helpful.

Product review example sentences:

• “The product worked perfectly and exceeded my expectations.”
• “I had a terrible experience with customer service, they were very unhelpful.”
• “I would not recommend this product to anyone; it broke after being used once.”

How to write a restaurant review

For a restaurant review, talk about the food, service, and atmosphere. Would you highly recommend the food? How was the customer service from the wait staff? Your review can help guide others looking for a great dining experience.

Restaurant review example sentences:

• “The food was delicious and beautifully presented.”
• “The service was slow and unprofessional.”
• “The atmosphere was noisy and uncomfortable; I would not eat here again.”

How to write a travel review

When writing a travel review, include specific details about the location, accommodation, and activities. Mention what you enjoyed and what could be improved. This helps others plan their trips better.

Travel review example sentences:

• “There were plenty of fun activities to do, and all within walking distance.”
• “I highly recommend this beautiful destination to other travellers.”
• “The hotel was hard to find, with poor signage and confusing directions, and once we finally arrived, it was not worth the effort due to its outdated facilities.”

How to write a customer service review

A customer service review should focus on the quality of service you received. Did the staff respond to your needs? Were they helpful? Customer reviews that highlight good or bad service can influence a company’s online reputation.

Customer service review example sentences:

• “The staff responded quickly and resolved my issue.”
• “Everyone was friendly and went above and beyond to make sure we had a good time.”
• “I’m very disappointed with the service. The staff were unresponsive, and my issue was not resolved despite multiple attempts to get help.”

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Joe Burrow Has Brief, But Direct Message Following Bengals' Preseason Finale

James rapien | 9 hours ago.

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CINCINNATI — The Bengals wrapped up the preseason on Thursday night. Joe Burrow didn't play, but he had a brief message for everyone as he was walking to the locker room.

"See ya in a couple weeks," Burrow said.

The Bengals play the Patriots in the regular season opener on Sept. 8. Watch video of him walking to the locker room below:

“See ya in a couple weeks.” - Joe Burrow walks to the locker room after the #Bengals preseason finale pic.twitter.com/r3STqCKWRS — James Rapien (@JamesRapien) August 23, 2024

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JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien covers the Bengals for Sports Illustrated's AllBengals.com and is one-half of the Locked on Bengals Podcast. He's also the co-owner/creator of Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. He earned a journalism degree from the University of Cincinnati and has spent the majority of his professional career in the Queen City. Rapien previously covered the Cavaliers and Indians in Cleveland. He has a background in radio, which includes stops at 700 WLW, ESPN 1530 and 92.3 The Fan. He loves a good trade rumor and uses copious amounts of hot sauce on his food. Cincinnati chili is his go-to meal, followed by gallons of mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. When he isn't working or eating, he's probably walking his dog Finley or spending time with family.  

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8 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about.

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By The New York Times

In space, no one can hear you groan.

‘Alien: Romulus’

The newest entry in this sci-fi horror franchise, this one directed by Fede Álvarez, follows a mistreated contract worker (Cailee Spaeny) and her glitchy android friend (David Jonsson) as they face off against the eponymous extraterrestrials.

From our review:

“Alien: Romulus” is a nuts-and-bolts action-adventure horror story with boos and splatter. It doesn’t have much on its mind but it has some good jump scares along with a disappointingly bland heroine, a sympathetic android and the usual collection of disposable characters who are unduly killed by slavering, rampaging extraterrestrials. … Álvarez spends a lot of time showing off his sets, which are more engaging than the writing.

In theaters. Read the full review .

‘The Purge’ meets the Powerball.

A near-future Los Angeles holds a Grand Lottery: the winner then must fight off losers who can legally kill them to get the cash. An unsuspecting transplant (Awkwafina) gets the golden ticket and must turn to a bodyguard (John Cena) for protection.

The concept provides a convenient vehicle for the characters to learn helpful lessons about human decency and trust. But “Jackpot!” does not quite stick the landing. Directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay by Rob Yescombe, the movie sustains an admirably zany energy, though its jokes often feel underwritten. (“You can’t just steal people’s panic rooms. What are you, Jodie Foster?”) Worse, though, it seems intent on mixing its metaphors.

Watch on Amazon Prime Video . Read the full review .

Bowdlerized but still bold.

‘caligula: the ultimate cut’.

Thomas Negovan re-edited this (ahem) colorful cult classic originally released in 1980. It follows the rise and fall of the Roman emperor and stars Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren.

Even more crucial is the belief that a masterpiece lurks within the mangled original release. Now attempting to prove that theory is “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” the latest iteration of a film that has gone through an unfathomable number of edits over the decades. This is the rare re-edited version of a movie that features less graphic sex and violence than the original. What kind of world are we living in?

Through a child’s eyes, darkly.

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Alien: Romulus' Surprise Cameo Is Ugly and Unnecessary

The newest alien movie commits an unforced error with its unexpected cameo..

Warning: Full spoilers follow for Alien: Romulus.

Alien fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus lives up to the hype , delivering a real back-to-basics, claustrophobic sci-fi horror movie that doesn’t completely cut ties with other recent Alien sequels like 2012’s Prometheus. There’s just one fly in the ointment here in the form of a distractingly bad and completely unnecessary cameo character.

Let’s take a closer look at why that cameo almost derailed a perfectly good Alien sequel, and why Hollywood needs to knock off this trend of using CGI to bring dead actors back to life.

Again, beware of full spoilers for Alien: Romulus ahead!

Alien: Romulus Gallery

Alien: Romulus’ Unexpected Cameo

Alien: Romulus is set 20 years after the events of the first Alien movie but decades before Aliens. Because of that, there’s not a lot of room for Romulus to bring in familiar faces from the franchise’s past. Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley is still frozen in suspended animation, and the rest of the Nostromo crew were killed by the Xenomorph.

But Romulus finds a way to bring back one of those characters in a new form. Midway through the film, we encounter the battered remains of Rook, an android synthetic who shares the likeness of Ian Holm’s character, Ash. Similar to how Rogue One: A Star Wars story digitally recreates the likenesses of the late Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia, Romulus uses CGI to simulate Holm’s performance.

Perhaps it’s fitting that computer technology is used to bring an artificial person to life, but there’s just one problem here - Romulus’ digital Holm doesn’t look good at all. It’s a distracting and, frankly, unnecessary addition to the film.

A Brief History of Hollywood and CGI De-Aging

Hollywood studios have a long history of relying on CGI technology to either de-age actors or digitally resurrect dead performers. 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand is a notable early example, opening with a flashback scene featuring de-aged versions of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto. What’s most surprising about that scene in hindsight is how little the technology has improved over the years.

We saw that de-aging tech employed on a much bigger scale in 2010’s Tron: Legacy, which features Jeff Bridges in dual roles as an aged Kevin Flynn and the youthful Flynn simulacrum known as CLU. Even at the time, Legacy’s de-aging tech was somewhat less than convincing, betraying a real Uncanny Valley effect that mars an otherwise enjoyable Tron sequel.

There’s also the aforementioned Rogue One, which digitally resurrects Cushing’s Tarkin by superimposing Cushing’s likeness over a performance by Guy Henry. Similarly, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett use CGI to introduce a young, Return of the Jedi-era version of Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker. In both cases, the thrill of seeing an iconic Original Trilogy Star Wars character given new life in the 21st century was marred by the fact that the finished effect simply wasn’t good enough. These characters look like what they are - digital zombies sharing space with flesh-and-blood actors.

The Problem With Alien: Romulus’ Rook

And now, with the release of Alien: Romulus, we can see that this tech still hasn’t progressed to the point where it can escape the Uncanny Valley. And to be fair, given Romulus’ relatively modest $80 million budget , maybe it was never realistic to expect this film to succeed where so many more expensive projects have struggled. Using CGI to brute-force your way into resurrecting a dead actor is not a cheap or easy process.

The Alien Movies' Long History of Recycling Rejected Ideas

Regardless, the point stands that Romulus’ Rook is every bit the eerie, distracting CGI character CLU and Tarkin were before him. Similar to Tarkin, Rook was created by superimposing Holm’s likeness over actor Daniel Betts. Also like Tarkin, while the end result sounds great (whether because the film uses AI to simulate Holm’s voice or because Betts’ Holm impression is just that good is unclear), it looks pretty hideous. Rook looks like what he is - a digital mask pasted over another person’s face. His facial movements are clunky and robotic. At times his mouth has no depth, which suggests the film is relying on AI deepfake technology. Rarely does this digital Ian Holm look very convincing.

So once again, Romulus is guilty of the exact same sin as those Star Wars projects. It recreates an iconic performance but does so in a way that is utterly distracting and takes viewers out of the moment.

What’s especially frustrating about Romulus is that it’s not even clear why the film needed to go through all this trouble to digitally resurrect Holm. It’s not as if the film is specifically bringing back Holm’s character Ash from the original Alien. Rook is simply a synthetic of the same model and purpose as Ash. Why does Rook need to look like Ash? It’s empty fan service - a callback to an older movie in a sequel that already has plenty.

Yes, the Alien universe has established a precedent for synthetics of the same model sharing identical features. The David and Walter androids are both played by Michael Fassbender in 2017’s Alien: Covenant, and there are multiple incarnations of Lance Henriksen’s Bishop in the franchise. But do all scientist synthetics need to look the same or be the same model? Rogue One can at least be forgiven because there was an actual, story-based need to have Tarkin appear. That need doesn’t exist in Romulus.

Does it even make sense for Weyland-Yutani to have an army of identical Ashes and Rooks, given what we know about Ash from the original movie? Ash is planted by the corporation as a sleeper agent, one intended to ensure the Xenomorph is brought under company control. No one on the Nostromo crew recognizes Ash as a synthetic until he gets his head knocked off. But if there are numerous versions of the same model in operation, wouldn’t that greatly increase the odds that someone on the crew would recognize Ash for what he is?

But even assuming there’s a valid need to make Rook into an Ash duplicate rather than a completely original character, did Romulus need to rely on shoddy CGI tech to do so? Why not go the path of least resistance and simply cast an actor who looks and sounds reasonably similar to a young Holm? That’s the approach director Mike Flanagan took in 2019’s Doctor Sleep. That sequel to The Shining simply cast new actors to play a young Wendy Torrance and Jack Torrance, rather than try to digitally recreate the likenesses of Shelley Duvall and Jack Nicholson. The new actors may not have looked 100% the part, but it’s a lot easier to accept an actor who looks slightly different than a character who isn’t entirely real.

Romulus makes the same mistake as The Book of Boba Fett. That latter series features actor Graham Hamilton as the physical base for young Luke Skywalker. But looking at behind-the-scenes photos of the episode in question, it’s clear Hamilton is already about 85% of the way to looking like a young Mark Hamill. Would it have been such a crime for Lucasfilm to simply cast him in the Luke role and leave it at that? Star Wars fans have accepted Genevieve O’Reilly’s Mon Mothma just fine. Similarly, couldn’t Álvarez and his team have simply found a Holm lookalike and saved themselves the time and expense of trying to will a posthumous Holm performance into existence?

That doesn’t even get into the ethics of casting choices like this. No doubt Holm’s estate signed off on allowing his likeness to be recreated. But would Holm himself have done the same were he still alive? Would Cushing have approved of his likeness being used in Rogue One? It’s clear that today’s actors are going to have to get used to leaving very specific stipulations in their wills about how their likeness can be used after death. It’s the only reason Disney hasn’t released a fourth Aladdin movie starring Robin Williams. Because with the advent of modern technology, practically any Hollywood icon can be revived on the big screen. It’s more than a little frightening.

Will we eventually get to the point where these CGI recreations can be seamlessly inserted into new movies without triggering the Uncanny Valley effect? Perhaps, but the tech certainly hasn’t evolved as far as many might have expected a decade or two ago. The same basic problems remain. Incredible amounts of work and budget go into creating characters that are, ultimately, more distracting than anything else. Alien: Romulus is just the latest example of a Hollywood problem that doesn’t need to exist.

Do you think Alien: Romulus should have relied on a digital recreation of Ian Holm’s likeness? Cast your vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Should Alien: Romulus have used CGI for the big cameo character?

For mroe on Alien: Romulus, find out how the series has recycled old deleted scenes and learn how the Alien universe is secretly connected to Blade Runner .

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter .

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DNC Night 1 Highlights: Joe Biden Urges ‘Beat Donald Trump’ in Nearly 50-Minute Speech; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Fires Up Crowd

Joe Biden took the stage as the final speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday night, with more than three minutes of applause and frequent chants of “We love Joe” from the audience. The 49-minute speech ran long during a night that was already behind schedule.

During the speech, audience members unfurled a banner reading “Stop arming Israel,” several attendees reported, and other people tried to rip the banner away. The disruption didn’t cause much of a ripple due to the vast size of the arena.

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He then took up the subject of reproductive rights. “Donald Trump is going to find out the power of women in 2024,” Biden said, flubbing his statement “women are not without electoral power” as “electrical power” instead.

“America, I gave my best to you,” he concluded. “We just have to remember who we are.”

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton, who fell short of becoming the first woman president, told Democrats she believes America is on the verge of breaking through and electing Kamala Harris .

In her speech at the Democratic convention in Chicago, Clinton drew on the legacy of women on the national stage, from Shirley Chisholm to Geraldine Ferraro, and said that Harris will make history.

“I want my children and grandchildren to know I was here at this moment,” she said. “We were here. We were with Kamala Harris every step of the way. This is when we break through. The future is here. Let’s go win it.”

Kamala Harris

Harris kicked off the convention with a brief appearance, sending a jolt of excitement through the delegates on hand. The Night 1 crowd at the United Center was jubilant about the historic prospect of electing the first female president. The sense of history moving on was buttressed later in the night — as the program ran very long — when attendees started clearing out well before President Joe Biden’s address.

“This is going to be a great week!” Harris said during her brief appearance Monday. She gave a heartfelt thank-you to Biden. “We are forever grateful to you.”

Tony Goldwyn

The vice president then gave way to emcee Tony Goldwyn, the actor who played the president on the ABC show “Scandal.” Goldwyn was among a handful of entertainers on stage, following Jason Isbell, who sang “Something More Than Free,” and Mickey Guyton, who performed “Ain’t We All American?”

Goldwyn promised that the week would offer an introduction to Harris and a clear contrast between Donald Trump’s agenda and her vision for the future.

“It is a message that’s joyful, not mean spirited,” Goldwyn said. “Public service — not self service, optimism and opportunity, not chaos and division. It’s a message that has woken us up to who we are.”

The Democratic speakers offered tributes to Biden and Harris, but also sought to prosecute the case against Trump. Many attendees were overheard buzzing in corridors about the most recent Trump outrage — falsely claiming to have been endorsed by Taylor Swift.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat who has become one of the youthful faces of the party, was one of most anticipated speakers on the schedule and she was effective in firing up the crowd. Earlier in the day, Donald Trump’s campaign sought to link Harris to Ocasio-Cortez’s positions on issues like defunding the police and the Green New Deal.

When it was her turn at the podium, Ocasio-Cortez didn’t waste time attacking Trump as a plutocrat. AOC demonstrated her muscle as one of the most prominent young Democratic stars to come along in years. Her speech was drowned out in multiple instances by screaming and applause — especially when she took aim at Trump.

“I for one am tired of hearing about how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed trampling on our way of life,” she said. “The truth is, Don, you cannot love this country if you only fight for the wealthy and big business. To love this country is to fight for all people, working people, everyday Americans.” Ocasio-Cortez also reminded the crowd how important support for House and Senate races are. “We can’t send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to Washington alone,” she said.

Hitting Back at Trump

Clinton also didn’t hold back against Trump, saying he “fell asleep at his own trial,” and woke up to find himself convicted on 34 felony counts. In a twist of history, the crowd chanted “Lock him up!” — an echo of chants at Trump rallies eight years ago calling for Clinton to be jailed.

Clinton also drew parallels between Trump’s attacks on her and those on Harris.

“He’s mocking her name and her laugh – sounds familiar,” Clinton said. “But we have him on the run now.” Clinton may have lost the 2016 race against Trump but she remains a rock star with hardcore Democrats.

The convention scene

Spotted in the basement of the United Center were Marisa Tomei, J.J. Abrams and producer Bruce Cohen. They said they had “high hopes” for the campaign. Abrams and his wife, Katie McGrath, have given more than $3 million to Democratic committees this cycle. Cohen is also a prolific donor.

With the convention speeches running late, James Taylor was cut from his scheduled performance before Biden’s speech.

As Democrats got ready for opening night, downtown Chicago was humming Monday with flags, bunting, bootleg t-shirt vendors and all the usual trappings of a political circus come to town.

Delegates from all over the country took time out before the major speechifying at the United Center this evening to look around the city. A rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza drew about 15,000 people, organizers with the Coalition to March on the DNC told ABC News Chicago .

Another hub of activity was on the east side of town at the sprawling McCormick Place center that the hosted DemPalooza showcase featuring a range of left-leaning organizations and causes. There were stages for discussions and Q&As but they were sparsely attended. The five-mile distance between McCormick Place and the United Center has obvious advantages for security and crowd control. But it also makes attendees heavily dependent on the DNC shuttles operating among the hotels and the two venues. The security perimeter around United Center is so large that ride share drivers and even public transit can’t get too close.

Elections are often defined in slogans and there was plenty of sloganeering displayed on the lapels, polo shirts and blouses of delegates, from “Remember Jan. 6” to “Keep Kamala and Carry On,” “Another Cat Lady for Kamala” and “Make Lying Wrong Again.”

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Director Julian Farino ’s “The Union” follows Mike ( Mark Wahlberg ), a construction worker content with his job, dive bar outings with his friends, and sleeping with his former seventh-grade teacher (an awkward joke that remains a punchline over the course of the film’s entirety). When his adolescent flame, Roxanne ( Halle Berry ) returns to the east coast after decades of no contact, what he thinks is a meet cute down memory lane turns into an international intelligence operation. 

Hackers have accessed the personal information of all of the Western world’s government employees, from soldiers to cops and the FBI. Agent Roxanne and her cut-to-the-chase boss Tom (J.K. Simmons) are spearheading the mission to retrieve the hack to prevent it from getting in the wrong hands. Their titular organization, The Union, is a small, highly secretive agency within the government, akin to the operations of the CIA. They’re “an invisible army that keeps the world running,” an agency that looks for street-smart, blue collar individuals who fly under the radar. Kidnapping Mike from New Jersey to London, Roxanne enlists his help for this high-stakes assignment for one sole reason: “He’s a nobody.” It’s a flimsy premise that precedes an equally thin film.

There’s no driving force when it comes to the characters. We suspend disbelief that Mike would be remotely interested in this life-threatening operation for which he has no true technical skills solely out of nostalgic romance and maybe a hint of patriotic duty (the latter of which is not far off but assumed more for Wahlberg’s habitual social sentiments than anything in-script). On paper, the plot seems to be the sole consideration of the film, while character development and world-building this criminal underbelly falls to the wayside. 

Everything about “The Union” is painstakingly familiar. Wahlberg kicks back and lounges comfortably in his habitual role: a laid back, kinda cocky east coaster who juggles punchlines and machismo. Berry, who is fully capable of being a compelling action star, (most recently in the third installment of the John Wick franchise), attempts her best with the film’s shoddy script. “The Union” hits bullet points on its outline with an overwhelming sense of tired obligation and stunted creativity. Its leads have no chemistry and being that their will-they-won’t-they serves as the story’s main attempt at depth, the emotive capabilities of the film sputter and shut down. 

“The Union” delivers tonal whiplash on account of its failure to exceed at either end of its genre attempt at action-comedy. The action is mostly unremarkable, with a few key set pieces that pump the pace, but ultimately neglect to put anything exciting on display. Rebounds of exposition and non-committal world building fudge the film’s flow, making the 105-minute runtime feel like a fight to the finish. 

Its ham-fisted comedic attempts incite semi-indignant smirks and exasperated chuckles rather than genuine, inspired laughter. Most of the jokes hit with the punch of a half-deflated whoopee cushion, and the sneaking feeling that the script was written on the basis of cheap laughs creeps further up your back as the minutes tick on. “The Union” is unspecial and unengaging. It lacks charm and excitement, clutching to simplicity and a lazy script that relies on star power that’s not bright enough to save it.

Peyton Robinson

Peyton Robinson is a freelance film writer based in Chicago, IL. 

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Film credits.

The Union (2024)

Rated PG-13

109 minutes

Mark Wahlberg as Mike McKenna

Halle Berry as Roxanne Hall

J.K. Simmons as Tom Brennan

Jackie Earle Haley as Foreman

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Frank Preiffer

Jessica De Gouw as Juliet Quinn

• David Guggenheim
• Julian Farino

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