I never thought I'd say this, but stick with jonathon Ross! (Empire)

Member Name: esthersmile

Product:	Empire
Date:	13/11/03 (62 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Detailed info, Reviews of every new film, Humourous

Disadvantages: Non-controversial to the extreme, Too many adverts, Pricey

Started by the film reviewers from Q magazine, Empire had a promising future ahead of it. I personally started reading about 4 years ago and quite quickly asked for a subscription for my birthday, I was so impressed.

Empire has had a revamp recently though, and I have to say that the new format just isn't up to the old standard. While it still has detailed reviews of all new films coming out, interviews and features, they simply aren't as good as they used to be. I'll start with a rundown of the different sections, as some of them are really good, while others just upset me.

The first section is their "top ten" which has a different theme each month. This section, even if I don't always agree with it, is usually entertaining and interesting. The subject matter varies from gory scenes, to love scenes, to the greatest comic moments. There's also a sideline which explains the criteria for choice, and an opportunity for you to send in your own top ten on the same topic, some of which are printed in the next issue. This section then gets 9/10

After trawling through many pages of ads then, we finally get to the news section. The many items, and int4erviews, as well as up to date information and the odd splash of humour make this section good too. 8/10

The interviews on the other hand are less than satisfactory. More concerned with artsy photography than actually getting an insight into the interviewee's life, Empire toes the line so as not to upset anyone. This is disappointing since the subjects they are able to get access to (high profile stars and obscure old/new faces) are varied to the extent that some very interesting people are featured. 6/10

The reviews are no longer unfortunately, as good as they used to be. However much you say that the Jackass movie is one for Jackass fans only, I think giving it 3 stars is a mark of madness. Although on the whole the star ratings are ok and the revi
ews detailed enough for you to make up your own mind, it is often a case of reading between the lines. It's fair enough to say that each film has its own merits, but to give a positive tone to a review of a film that really isn't any good, highlighting it's better points to the detriment of actually telling the readers what it is really like to me hints at a lack of balls. But maybe that's just me. 6/10

Tye features are good though sometimes i feel when reading them that they are only so much padding. The "behind the scenes" or "making of" features can be interesting, althouh anyone can come up with a "50 funniest moments in film" 4-pager, which is pretty similar to the regular "top ten feature" anyway. But without picking on particular features, it's hard to give an impression of what exactly is wrong with it. Ah well. 5/10

So, overall it seems like I like the magazine doesn't it? I haven't given any section less than 5, and i do still buy it right? Well, yes, but that's due to the lack of competition out there. While EMpire may be cursed by it's own popularity into playing it sae, it's rivals are just as bad, if not worse. My film obsession and craving for movie rivia means that if I didn't buy EMpire I would simply have to buy a worse magazine.

however, this is no excuse for being wimpy and lazy. While Empire is the best UK film magazine at the moment info-wise, if it continues to rest on it's laurels it's going to get left behind by someone who realises that pandering to the masses and the bosses is not what most filmgoers want, and it's going to lose it's core audience.

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