ManyWriters.comEverything You Should Know about Movie Review Writing
A movie review is one of a few college assignments students enjoy. Well, it is no wonder, because everybody loves watching films. What is more, a review is less deep than an analysis, so chances are that you won’t need to spend hours reading academic sources and doing a solid research. Whereas a movie analysis should include a professional approach that goes beyond the plot, a review is something significantly more pleasant. At the same time, there are some recommendations every writer should consider. Let’s discuss them.
What is a movie review?
Basically, a review is your personal opinion about a certain film. Therefore, this type of paper doesn’t have any restrictions when it comes to writing style and voice. Make sure that you provide an informative and original vision of the movie without giving too much spoilers. It means that you shouldn’t just retell the plot of the film, but find something that interests you the most and tell your readers about it. For example, there might a particular theme revealed in a movie and you may have your personal reflections about it. This might become a perfect material for your essay.
What is a purpose of a movie review?
In general, the purpose of a review is to entertain your audience and describe enough details to let them make a decision whether this film is worth of their attention. Your aim is to inform and persuade. Make sure that you don’t give away any important plot details or surprising twists. Read on to learn some writing tips.
How to write a movie review?
- Step 1: Watch the movie carefully
Maybe, you will have to watch it even more than once. Write down as many crucial details as you can while you watch. Just keep your hand on a remote control and pause it when writing!
- Step 2: Take a critical approach
You should choose one key aspect related to the movie. For example, you may focus on a central theme of the narrative, the way it was directed, how it engages large cinematographic concepts, or the way it relates to social/cultural/historical event.
- Step 3: Introduce the main actors and a director
The previous two steps were pre-writing techniques and this one relates to writing itself. Make sure that you present the director and movie-stars that have been working on the picture in the first paragraph of your work. If you want to focus on a certain aspect of the film like a scenario or shooting, make sure that you introduce a script writer or an operator.
- Step 4: Retell the story briefly
Avoid retelling the entire plot and those parts that don’t relate to the key theme of your paper. Focus on the episodes that support your ideas.
- Step 5: Write with a movie at your fingertips
You should keep the movie in front of your eyes when writing a review. Relying on your memory is not the best idea, so make sure that you can recall the events, dialogues and shooting strategies directly from the film.
- Step 6: Some concepts
If you don’t know the difference between dissolve and cut, make sure to check such basic terms before you start writing. There is no need to overload your paper with any filmmaking jargon, but adding a couple of such terms to your paper is efficient. Be sure that you know the meaning of the concepts and use them properly. Otherwise, you risk to weaken the authority of your writing instead of making it stronger.Now you know the basics of successful movie review writing. We bet that you have some brilliant ideas to amaze your teachers with. So make sure to be clear, consistent, creative, and have fun!