How to Write a Movie Review

You are asked to write a film review as a college assignment or for the local newspaper. Though you are a complete movie buff, you know nothing about film reviews and so it may seem to be a difficult task. However, writing a film's critical review is not so difficult as you imagine. Other than good command over the English language, what you require is some basic knowledge about structure of film review. Here are some tips that have to be kept in mind before writing a film review.

Film Review Paper

Research Work: Before you watch the movie, it is very essential to do some research work. Try to understand the context of the film i.e. what is the basic plot, when and where is the story set, the principal characters, director, script writer, etc. Try to know whether the story is original, a true life story, adaptation of a novel, or a sequel of some other movie. You should also research about the earlier works of the director and actors. This helps in knowing what to expect from the movie.

Watching the Movie: The next obvious step is watching the film. To make a proper judgment, it would always be recommended to watch the movie more than once. This would help you understand certain nuances of the film well. While watching the movie, take down some important points that you would like to mention in your review. After watching the film, it is important to form a specific opinion of the film, as this is what people look for in the film review. You should also analyze the film for basic facts like whether it is a comedy, tragedy, historical, action, etc.

Beginning to Write: It is very important to grab the attention of the reader from the word 'GO'. For this you would have to find an appropriate lead that is interesting and catchy. One great idea would be to start with certain significant lines taken directly from the movie, or else you can talk about the trailers of the film and whether the film is as good as the hype that was created. Having a good start would surely help in attracting the interest of your readers. You can also compare this film with some other film or from the novel from which it was taken.

Synopsis of the Movie: The lead of your film review must be followed by the synopsis of the story. Here, you have to be very careful, as you should not give up the whole story to the audience, especially the end. You must describe the basic storyline, however avoid mentioning the important scenes and twists that form the crux of the film.

Writing the Review: Once you finish with the brief synopsis, start analyzing the movie. Here, you have to talk about the positive and negative points of the film. Mention areas that were good and those that were bad and also explain the reasons for it. However, you need not stick to the main story, rather you have to comment about the acting, script, plot, direction, background score and technical factors like the special effects, cinematography, costumes, etc.

Make Your Review Interesting: We have already discussed that the start of the film review should be interesting, however it is also important to write the rest of the article in the same way. You can use your creativity with the help of adjectives, metaphors, analogies, adverbs, etc. to keep the reader interested in your review.

Honesty: Honesty is a crucial quality for writing a film review. Your article should reflect what you felt about the movie. One should avoid reading reviews written about the movie by other film critics, as there are chances that you may get influenced by them. You must remember that every human being can have different opinions about the same thing and your only duty is to write your point of view. You can end your write up by stating your opinion about the movie in a single sentence.

You should remember that though it is important to be honest about your attitude towards the movie, you should never discourage the readers from watching the movie. A good film review would be that which tempts the reader in going to see the film.