How to Write Movie Reviews (How To Write A Good Movie Review)

Member Name: cool_dude

Product:	How To Write A Good Movie Review
Date:	30/04/09 (294 review reads)
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I am a movie buff. So I like to read and write movie reviews. Simply by reading others reviews I have improved myself a lot. I am putting some effort to write some advice on how to make movie reviews? Everyone has got his or her own writing skills, and I am not saying I am perfect in writing reviews, but I have gained a lot of experience in writing movie reviews and this may be helpful to new members. First I will talk about the structure and format of the review and then I will tell what you should include in the review. Finally I will end up with what not to write in the review. I will explain each and everything with examples so that it becomes easy for readers to understand.

To start with a quick Introduction of the movie. In the introduction you can mention the genre of the movie, the release date and crew of the movie like the name of the director, writer and producer. If a movie is an adoption of a book/novel or remake of any movie, you can also include this in the introduction. Then after you can write theme of the movie in one or two lines. The awards and achievements of the movie or cast can also be included in the introduction. Usually I do this because I think that it helps the reader to know that the movie is strong in certain areas and he/she can expect more in these areas. Here we end the introduction and, by writing good introduction, you can draw the reader's attention in and it will give the reader some idea of what the movie is all about. So always start your movie review with short and interesting introduction.

The next stage is to give a brief introduction of the Star Cast of the movie. Write the name of the actor and the character name in front of this. You can also give a brief introduction of the character, but don't write too much. Include only the lead actor/actress of the movie or the characters which you are going to introduce in next section (Plot Summary). I don't think you need to mention the whole star cast because it's just a way to make your review look longer. For example Brain Cox portrays Ward Abbott, immediate superior of Alexander and deputy director of central intelligence agency (CIA).

Next is the Plot Summary of the movie. Write the plot of the movie in one paragraph and write in such a way that makes reader curious to read further. This section is the heart of the movie review and creates an interest in the mind of the reader to watch or not to watch the movie. Don't write too much in this section because if the reader already knows each and everything about story then why will he/she watch the movie? I have seen many writers who start and write the plot in two or three paragraphs, even more writers finish off their reviews just by writing the plot. One more thing to keep in mind is; you should avoid writing any twists and surprises in the plot. Don't spoil the ending of the movie, as many writers who don't care about reader do. The aim of this section is to sketch an outline and plot without any spoilers. I think nothing is worse than reading the whole story of the movie and then we are left with nothing to see. I usually write one paragraph and end up with some questions which make the reader curious to watch the movie. So you can identify and write some questions and puzzles, for example; what is this secret that changes his life? Is he really a partner in the firm? If he is, then why is he working for the firm? This is just like showing trailer of a movie in which you mention some key points, raised some questions and left other things for viewers to watch.

The next stage is to write your Opinions and Views about the movie. Most of the writers skip this section, but in my opinion we are here to tell the reader why he/she likes/dislikes the particular movie. What are the pros and cons of the movie? I think writing this section is an art and shows the ability of the writer - how deeply he/she can analyze the movie. Some writers just write "I like this movie", "the direction is perfect", 'the acting is fine and music is also good" and that is it. Don't just write this, write why you feel this way. You can include every aspect of the movie in this section like; characters, performances, direction, editing, screenplay, visual effects, music score, etc. The following explains how to write on each and every aspect.

Characters and Performances: This part is backbone of the movie. Every movie has some central characters so in every movie you should include this aspect. You can talk about the main characters of the movie. First identify who are the main characters of the movie and write about these characters one by one. How is this character? What do you like/dislike about this character? You can write how well/badly the character was portrayed. You can compare the portrayal to a similar character. Some writers make a mistake here by writing what the character did in this movie. I think this is the nothing else but repetition of the story. So be careful, the aim of this section to give some idea how the cast performs in their roles?

Direction: This is another key point that makes the movie successful. Again you should include this in your review by explaining how you find the direction of the movie. You can compare the direction by the director's previous work. You can write some scenes where direction really shines in the movie or others where you think there's lack of direction.

Visual Effects and Cinematography: In this section we should write about camera work and special effects. This section is not applicable of some movies but if you find something different then you can include this section in the review. Here you can write about some of the best scenes in the movie which shows great camera work. In the action genre this section is must. Again you can compare the special effects with a similar kind of movie.

Now we should talk about the Plot and Storyline. What you think about the storyline? Is the plot fast paced or too slow? How is the ending? Are there any holes in story and are there any questions which are unanswered? Characters are developed according to pace or not? You can include all those things. These are the main aspects which are applicable to all kind of movies, but there are more things which you can write if applicable. For example; in epic and fantasy movies you can talk about Set design and Costumes, In a musical you can write about the Music score and Background Music, for animation movies your views on the animation must be included. The point is you must include what you feel is different, what and why you enjoyed the movie. There are some parts which work for you and some not so, make it clear. Don't write anything without reason. I think every movie has some negative points so, if you noticed some, don't forget to mention those points.

We are almost completed with movie review. I have talked about what to include in your review, but now I am going to discuss some points, that should be kept in mind, not to include in your reviews. I have noticed all these things by reading movie reviews and, in my opinion, its better to avoid such things.

Don't write useless things. I have seen many writers includes some useless and nonsense things in their reviews. For example, somebody wrote more than 20 filming locations of the movie in each review. What's the point in writing this? Who wants to know about each and every location? Half of his/her reviews were filled only by filming locations. Some people write the budget and gross income of the movie. Some people write all the soundtracks of the movie. Write these if there is something special or different about it, for example; the soundtrack of Mission Impossible and Mortal Kombat are very famous, so no harm in writing few lines on that.

Don't ruin the ending. I have already discussed on that point.

Don't repeat things. I have seen many people repeat the same thing in his/her review. What they do is they write some headings like "Pros and Cons", why you should/shouldn't watch this movie AND "what I like/dislike". The headings are different, but most of the things are same. They say that the visual effects are the advantage of the movie and again in next section they write you should watch this movie because visual effects are good. I think this is noting but repetition to make review look longer, so try to avoid this thing.

Now this section I am going to talk about is optional and not applicable to all movies. If a movie is an adaptation of some novel/book, and you have read the book, then you can compare them. Write about the difference between the novel and the movie. If the movie is a remake of some other movie, and you have seen that movie, then I strongly suggest comparing both the movies. In historical and epic movies you can include the historical aspects and realities. I know you will say what it may mean to us, but there are some readers who want to know more and want to get completely involved in the movie, so this paragraph is for them. Write a heading before writing this so that if someone doesn't want to know such kind of information then they can skip this section.

In the last paragraph you can conclude and write a Summary of your review. If you own the DVD or know about the features of the DVD then you can write those features before concluding your review. So we are finished with the review and that's all I can give you. I hope this will help readers to make their reviews better. Even I am learning and trying to make my reviews better. Thank You for reading.

The modified version of this review is also posted on Helium and Ciao.

Summary: How to Write Movie Reviews