Movie Critic Reviews: Is There Really Any Substance?

Ever find yourself second-guessing your love for a movie after reading online critic reviews? I analyzed professional movie critic reviews to prove why “professional” critics’ opinions often fail to understand a movie’s underlying message.

Indeed, it would be a cardinal sin to argue against critical reviews of movies such as The Dark Knight, Pulp Fiction, and The Shawshank Redemption. Any ordinary Joe can sit, watch these movies, and proclaim with their heart that they are all great. I even dare say it would be hard for anyone to have an opposing view on these masterpieces. But what about those movies like Unbroken, The Green Mile, and Back to the Future II that fans- myself included- love but critics seem to denounce? 

This discrepancy in cinema taste between fans and critics is present because of the lack of a unified grading system. Upon researching reviews from numerous genres, the standard connection between bad movies is predictability and crappy CGI. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Spy Kids when I was a young boy on Disney Channel, but recently, circling back, I get nauseated from watching some of these scenes. I’m honestly surprised that I could withstand all the bright lights and '90s-esque CGI that rivals today’s brain rot. 

Returning to my argument, I was distraught to find that one of my favorite childhood movies, Unbroken, was thoroughly hated by professional critics despite the tremendous impression the movie’s message left on me. With a whopping score of 52% on Rotten Tomatoes and only a 7.2/10 on IMDb, critics must be wrong. So-called “Top Critic” Dan Scully wrote, “it's long, uninteresting, and paced like one of those nightmares where you keep trying to run BUT YOU CAN'T! It's that bad.” But then again, we also have critics like Joseph Walsh who criticize the movie, not for its story but for its genuine portrayal of said story. Joseph keeps it short and sweet, “A lacklustre and dull film about an incredibly remarkable man.” However, another critic, Don Shanahan, from the website “Every Movie Has a Lesson,” takes a more holistic approach, “There's a strength to be found in witnessing this portion of the Louis Zamperini story, no matter how ugly it is and how hard it is to watch.” The list of critiques for this movie is endless.

At the end of the day, critics are just that: critics. There is no set standard for what a critic is looking for. In a perfect world, there would be a movie rubric that each director would follow to make the perfect movie so that critics can accurately grade and properly critique like a mathematical problem set. But in reality, this is not the case at all. The art form of making movies does not need to follow a particular set of boundaries and rules based on what critics say is bad and good. As an avid movie enjoyer, one of the most impactful feelings that a viewer receives is the feeling they experience during the movie. It is not necessarily the content in front of them but the message. Critics often fall into the trap of trying to find all the bad within a movie without enjoying the messages and morals each story brings. The arbitrary label of  “Top Movie Critic” is foolish to worship and to be used as an excuse to preach to their audience. Overall, as a viewer, you should not be confined or influenced out of your opinion by online “Top Movie Critics” because it is impossible to find any one “correct” way of grading movies.

Jack Francini