Movie Review Guide: Enjoying a good movie in the evening and watching it solely for the purpose of writing a review is not quite simple. A movie review is a personal analysis done by an individual without revealing the whole plot of the film. It’s known to be a way for critics to assess the quality of the film and share whether it is worth recommending or not. Writing a movie review takes a lot of preparation that includes collecting knowledge of other works done by the director, learning about actors and getting a sense of their individual style.
Sometimes writing a good film review takes multiple viewings of the film. It is also important to take notes while watching the film. Let’s see some steps on how to write a proper movie review.
A movie critic must focus on following steps to write a delightful Movie Review
1. Watch a Film and Make Notes: Obviously, this is the first thing you should do. Creating notes while you watch enables you to go back to the movie immediately when you sit to write a review. Making notes will allow you to confirm that you have not missed any point that would be important to mention in the review.
2. Do Some Research: Once you are done with watching the film and making notes. It’s time to do some basic research before preparing your draft. It will facilitate your writing skill because when you read, you get an idea of structuring the review which plays a crucial role in drafting informative and entertaining reviews.
3. Prepare a Rough Draft: To prepare a rough draft, the best time is just after finishing watching the film. Sit down with paper and write down all the ideas roughly. Drafting a rough idea is very important as after some time you might forget the main points you got right after finishing the film.
4. Use Simple Language: Never try to use a fancy language in any kind of review. Always keep in mind that your review should benefit everyone, including the person who is just a beginner in English. Always use a language which is easy to read and understand.
5. Write a Captivating Introduction: The introduction of the review plays a very crucial role in the entire review as it helps to develop the interest of the reader creating a connection through the end. Your introduction should focus on providing information like the title of the movie, genre, director’s name. You can also mention other remaining information like awards (the reputable ones), box office and the cast members.
6. Summary of the story: You should focus on writing a summary of the story without mentioning spoilers. It is a very important point to focus on. Write your summary in such a way that you only give basic information about the story without telling the whole story. For example, If you are writing a review of a movie where one of the main characters dies in the end. You should never reveal it in your review. The summary should be short and not very long.
7. Brief Analysis of the Film: Start writing with whether it is a Romantic, Fantasy, Thriller, Horror Western, Comedy, Musical, Historical or a Documentary film. Write about the style of direction like whether it is a smooth story, sensationalizing or spellbinding. Give a little account of the star cast by describing the role played by them in the film. At this step, you can also describe the feelings you got while watching the movie. You can also mention those scenes that you liked. Write about the sound effects of the movie. All the detailed information regarding the film should be given here, but without revealing the whole film.
8. Express Your Opinion: Writing your personal opinion on the film is a paramount step for every film review. As you finish watching the movie and start writing the draft, introduction and analysis. You may have created your opinion on the film. In the opinion section, you can define what you think about the movie, what you enjoyed the most, what you didn’t like and what could be improved. You can give honest comments on the quality of sets, quality of the scripts, dialogue delivery or any particular accent. Remember, always give your honest opinion in a genuine way.
9. Comparisons: This is a step that you may or may not include and it is totally dependent on your wish. You can give a fair comparison of this film with another or made by the same director, featuring the same or different actor and actress. It provides a brief account for readers to know what they can expect from the movie if they have seen other movies by the same director.
10. Final Draft: Drafting a final review means you have done the editing, proofreading and given your review a desirable structure. If you have checked all the steps and mentioned all the details with your honest opinion on the film. You can finally make a final draft and your movie review is ready to submit. To make it more impressive you can take quotations from the film and add it in your final review which you found interesting.
To conclude your film review, you should comment on why a person should watch the movie, how it made you feel and if you have learned anything or not. You can also mention your favourite dialogue here with the scene that you will remember. You should also write your honest recommendation. It will help the reader decide if he/she should watch the movie or not. Remember, it’s their choice. You just need to draft the review and help them decide on your own. Never try to force your opinion on readers
Writing a perfect review requires a unique style that shows your different personality and to be able to write in that way. Make sure you practice writing every day. Start writing in such a way that you grab the reader’s attention and this never works overnight so start writing from today.
