With the release of Warner Brothers’ apparent box office juggernaut, fans on the Internet had high hopes for a stellar release that would deliver on its premise of anti-hero madness, caused by an unexpected band of misfits. More importantly though, they awaited a hit that would restore faith in the Cinematic Universe the movie giant is attempting to build.
However, because of the nature of the medium, and much to fans’ disappointment, review embargoes were lifted a few days before the film became a public screening. Currently, the movie sits at a dismal 26% aggregate on popular review site, “Rotten Tomatoes.” These dreary professional opinions seemed to clash with the fans’ judgment of the film, which hold it at a more respectable 74%. Needless to say, the schism caused user, Abdullah Coldwater, to spearhead a petition asking to remove RT from existence. Although some backtracking and superfluous statements have been made, this petition managed to reach around 20,000 signatures, which speaks to a bigger issue in how we value reviews and how it affects our consumption of media as a society.
For people whose leisure time comes at a premium, reviews can be extremely helpful. Due to the multitude of choices we have as consumers whenever we are to experience entertainment (movies in this case), a general consensus on the quality of the film can work as an excellent filter to help us determine what movie we’d like to watch out of the selection. Though not always the case, not only does this skewing process serves as pseudo quality control, but it is also a great social tool driving discussion, as critically acclaimed movies tend to generate the most buzz within cinephile communities.
Furthermore, well-written critiques will go in detail to point out specific and very detailed elements of the piece under scrutiny. This is often viewed as an annoying form of nitpicking, but in some cases, it accurately pinpoints elements that are crucial to the movie’s success or failure in different departments of cinematographic critique, with examples such as: sound design, cinematography, acting, writing, and many more.
The enigmatic, yet fascinating package that is film, often comes wrapped in a haze of subjectivity. Therefore, it is important to always remember that reviews aren’t the end-all be-all in terms of defining what constitutes a good film or what makes one enjoyable, that is and should always be determined by personal preference. Moreover, there are other factors that play a role in the decision-making process of an audience, such as the legacy of certain directors and actors, trailer flashiness, word of mouth and many others.
Anecdotally, some moviegoers can enjoy films that perhaps aren’t well received by critics but end up with huge commercial success stories. This seems to be the case of major blockbuster franchises that have enjoyed otherworldly commercial triumphs during their prime; like the Twilight series, or more recently the newly reanimated Ghostbusters.
In summation, keeping an open mind and finding a happy medium between objective reading of a review, combine a rational level of expectations will not only help viewers discover their own taste, but it will also lead to more honest digestion of cinema.
