A movie review is an element of film criticism and today we’re going to give you tips on ‘How to write a Movie Review.’ It usually contains an introduction to the film, the reviewer’s analysis and an overall establishment of their opinion.
It can be a bit challenging to articulate your thoughts into words that will truly capture your reader’s attention. The key is to make your review stand out from the rest – read on to learn how to write your own, unique analysis of a movie and make it an interesting read for your audience!
How To Write A Movie Review…
1. Do Your Research
Image courtesy Andrew Neel on Unsplash
Before or after you start watching a film, gather basic information about it – What was the release date? Who is the director? Who are the lead actors/actresses? Which genre does the movie fall under? Has it been nominated for any awards? Compile all of this data into a short note before you write the review in order to get a clear picture of the film’s style and theme.
2.Scrutinize the Details
Keep an eye out for the technicalities of the film along with the emotional aspects while you watch the movie. In order to build a unique opinion on the movie, you must pay attention to the cinematography, writing, design, special effects, and several other things. For instance, if you’re talking about the writing of the film, analyze the script – did it bring the plot to life?
Were the dialogues conveying the desired emotional appeal? How successfully did the dialogues capture the essence of the character? The answer to these questions lies in the film but you may have to re-watch it to gain a better understanding of the same and come up with exceptional movie reviews.
Additionally, it could help to take notes while watching the film too – you are likely to forget the tiny nitty-gritty that you observed during the film when you sit to write the review unless you have them written down somewhere. Giving importance to the details allows you to come up with an in-depth analysis and a credible film review.
-
Once More
Watching the movie only once may not be enough. After you’ve watched the film for the first time and made your notes along with scrutinizing the details, go back to the movie and verify your existing content. Ensure that your review conveys the fundamentals of the film correctly and that you haven’t made mistakes with the plot.
Additionally, a second watch will refresh your mind with the required mood that the movie wants to set. You may even notice things that you didn’t previously. This time around, you can watch the movie in one stretch, without having to pause and take notes – you just have to make sure that you are on the right track to writing a trustworthy, quality review.
-
Brief Introduction to the Storyline
Condense the film into a few lines so that the readers know what kind of film it is. This is beneficial as it gives the readers a rough outline of what the movie is about so that they can decide whether it fits their taste or not. An introduction helps your reader familiarise with the film. Furthermore, just because you loved a movie, it isn’t likely that everyone else will too since it really just depends on their preferences. Hence, it is mandatory to give your readers a run-through of the film, but make sure you are not giving away any spoilers.
-
Dive Deep into the Details
Now that you have established the general idea of the film, it’s time to elaborate on the elements that stood out for you. Discuss the dialogue, the background score, the cinematography, the acting and all the other aspects that make the film what it is. Additionally, you must present both – facts and opinions. Use these paragraphs to talk about the important symbols of the film and hint at their role in the film.
Convey your personal opinion on the same using detailed yet entertaining sentences. Your analysis has to be an intricate interpretation of everything that has stuck with you from the movie – both good and bad. It should clearly state a complete breakdown of everything about the movie’s striking components. Lastly, the most important thing: don’t dive too deep, you might drown! It is easy to give away spoilers in the flow of writing. Therefore, be conscious of what you write.
-
Use Examples
Your opinions and judgments must be backed up with examples from the film. Making a strong statement always requires evidence. For instance, if you believe that Rami Malek deserves the Academy Award for Best Actor 2019, justify your belief by hunting for scenes from his movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, that reflect your statement.
You may also quote dialogues from the films for the same. Define your theories well with a straightforward case. Adding an example makes your review more understandable for the reader and more credible too. Justify whenever you can but don’t delve too much into it – you don’t want to give away the whole film.
7.The Writing Process
After re-watching the movie, it’s time to commence the writing process. The first paragraph should contain the details about the film related to the actors, director, and genre of the movie you initially researched upon, in addition to a central idea that can be discussed along with your observations about the elements of the movie in the following paragraphs.
Your thesis should be original and intriguing enough to capture the reader’s attention in order for them to keep reading. Writing a thesis gives your review a foundation and brings out the monotony as it goes beyond discussing the plot.
The first few lines of your review should reveal your stance on the film, which means that by the time your reader is on the second paragraph, they should know whether the movie is worth watching or not. For the second paragraph, introduce the storyline to your readers (spoiler free, of course) followed by the elements of the movie that intrigued you. The latter will be your conclusion – continue reading to learn how to end on a high note!
-
Express Yourself Freely
Your review should echo your personality traits; only then can it stand out from the rest. If your writing style tends to be humorous and quick-witted, your review should too! Don’t be too conscious of your style, let the words flow and have fun while you’re writing.
It makes the review more entertaining for the readers and creates a perception of you, the person behind the screen. Write the review the way you write everything else because being the most honest version of yourself is the best way to win the readers’ hearts. They will appreciate the truth and look forward to more from you in the future!
9.End with a Bang
Wrapping up a review can be a bit confusing. Once you’ve already said all that you had to say, what more is left? Hence, the best way of ending it is to bring it to a full circle. Restate your thesis and conclude your article with your stand on the movie. Your ending is the most vital part of your movie review – it’s the last thing that your reader reads about the film and is the decider of their final opinion as the last paragraph tends to leave a relatively more long-lasting impression. Therefore, the conclusion should be a compelling finish which sums up your thoughts adequately.
10.Editing & Proofreading
Ensure that your movie review is free from grammatical errors and typos. When you know you have written something amazing, you wouldn’t want silly mistakes to reduce the quality of writing. Keep rereading it until you are confident that the review is free from errors. It is a useful technique as you may realize that you forgot to add something that you really wanted to. Furthermore, you may read a sentence and feel like you could change it up to make it better. Editing allows you to do the same and it is the most efficient way of polishing your review. Double checking has never hurt!
That’s How you Write A Movie Review!
All in all, follow the aforementioned step-by-step process to write a movie review and master the art with practice. Keep writing and ensure to always gather information about the film, take notes while watching it and write a high-quality review that is completely spoiler-free. Paint an honest picture to your readers and let your words flow free in the world of film critiquing!
There are so many children’s books that have been made into movies, so this weekend why not have a movie marathon? Watch some of the movies and then try your hand at writing an informal movie review. This is a great activity to get kids involved in a fun creative writing project that will help with their overall development.
If movies are not your thing and you’d rather spend a weekend reading to your child, then subscribe to GetLitt! We’ve to go some of the best Indian children’s books available to read online, so do check out our library.
Happy Reading!
Like this?
Read: Book List: Children’s Books That Were Made Into Kid’s Movies
Read More: How to Write a Story Step-by-Step by Indian Author Katie Bagli
Feature image courtesy lan deng on Unsplash