Tips On Writing A Movie Review

One of the more imaginative academic assignments that students confront is writing a movie review type. It just adds to the difficulty, because integrating analytical study of the film's aesthetic merits with one's personal reaction can be difficult.

Even if you like expressing your thoughts and humorous remarks on the movies you watch in your spare time, you may find yourself stumped when presented with such a college project. We'll look at how to write a college movie review paper as well as how to write a decent movie review for the benefit of other viewers in this article.

How To Write A Review On A Movie For The Class

First and foremost, you must comprehend the goal of your task. A movie review essay is usually part of a course's curriculum and serves a specific function.

 

The film you're asked to assess might be a documentary or a feature picture that relates to the content you're learning right now. For example, a period play for history, a book dramatization for literature, a social problem film for social studies, or any other combination.

 

The course sets the stage for your interpretation of the film, and you must apply what you've learned in class to the analysis of the film. From the contents of the assignment, you should be able to deduce why you were assigned this video to study. It should also provide you with a query or prompt that will assist you in developing a thesis for your essay as well as a suggestion for the best hook line.

 

Components To Focus On For Movie Review Outline

After you've grasped the background of your work, you should conduct film research. Here are a few things to pay attention to:

• Year of release, historical and social context of the time
• Film’s genre
• Sources of inspiration (is it a remake of another film, an adaptation, a film based on real events?)
• Filmmaker, his or her background, artistic views expressed in prior works or in interviews, political stance, etc.
• The cast of the movie (are they star actors, experienced yet not widely known, debutants?)

 

Now that you've got all of this information, you're ready to view the movie and think about how it relates to your course, as well as examine the topics it explores and the creative features it employs. Here are some things to watch for:

• Story
• Conflicts
• Actor work
• Worldbuilding

Of course, there are some technical details to analyze as well.

• Camerawork: angles and movement, panning, close-ups, etc.
• Montage and scene transitions: is it smoothed over or abrupt? To what effect? (dramatic, comedic, etc.)
• Locations and set design
• Music and score
• Lighting and colors: bright or somber? vivid or subdued? exuberant or bleak?
• Costume design, makeup, hairstyles, prosthetics. How this is all used to create a whole picture and to set out individual characters?

 

Of course, you do not have to write about each item on the list. Concentrate your efforts on the most visible ones. What has piqued your interest? What appears to be crucial in the context of your studies?

 

A review of the 2005 Pride & Prejudice adaption, for example, may concentrate on:

• How the movie portrays the position of women in the society of the time (for Women Studies)
• How faithful it is to the source material and when it strays from it (for Literature class)
• How the class structure of the society is shown (for History)
• How it applies visual storytelling (for Film studies)
• And so on.

 

Movie Review: Structure And Key Elements

You can begin writing when you've viewed the movie (ideally more than once), picked your focus, and specified the components to evaluate. The following are the essential components of your essay:

• In the introduction, where you should include the full title of the film, its genre, the director’s name, and the date of the release. As a thesis, state your overall opinion of the movie. For example, “The film, although not faithful in every detail to its acclaimed source material, creates a beautifully poetic interpretation of the story for a modern audience through artistic use of cinematography and musical score”.
• A summary of the story. Do not give away too much. Remember, that the main purpose of a review is to give your opinion of the film for the benefit of the potential viewers who might not have seen the film yet. Leave out the climax and resolution or at least try to avoid spoilers.
• Analysis of plot elements: exposition, rising action, climax, resolution, etc.
• Analysis of the select creative elements
• The conclusion, where you give your opinion on the movie, its artistic and entertainment value, and recommendations to viewers of what to expect.

 

Pro Tips For Writing A Unique Movie Review

1. Take notes

This is particularly critical if you are seeing the film in a cinema and will not be able to see it again before writing the review. Make a list of everything that stands out to you, such as:

• To what effect certain creative means were applied? How did the audience react?
• Does anything feel deliberate or random? Are there any plot holes?
• Have you noticed any recurring themes, patterns, symbols? What does it say from the filmmaker’s perspective?
• Did plot twists take you by surprise or you could see them coming?

 

2. Don’t rate the movie

Despite the prevalence of audience and reviewers' scores on prominent platforms, utilizing the hard scale to rate the film is unnecessary, especially for a college paper. Your purpose is to assess the subjects that the film addresses, the creative methods it employs, and the impact it has on the audience.

 

3. Don’t focus on your response

As a component of the review as a genre of writing, your viewpoint is anticipated. However, if you use too many personal pronouns in your review, you risk making it overly subjective and one-dimensional. Objective assertions, on the other hand, require facts to back up your claims and make you appear more trustworthy.

 

"The movie was great fun and I enjoyed it," for example, but "This enjoyable movie succeeds in retaining viewer's attention every minute of the way and leaves a feel-good impression" is far more intriguing.

 

You may now write a movie review in the style of a professional critic! If you don't have time to see and study a four-hour director's cut, here's a bonus tip: enlist the services of a movie review writing service to produce a summary for your review. This will save you time and offer you an excellent sample to work from.