The educational system cannot ignore the development of culture and technology and must consider the state of society in its educational materials. Therefore, more and more often, there are tasks where you need to write an essay review of a movie, TV series, or video game.
Writing this type of work can take a lot of time, mainly if you must devote time to watching the film. Sometimes you must watch the movie two or three times to fully perceive the meaning and notice essential things for the reviewers. Only some students have that much time for the assignment. Even more – most students only have the opportunity to watch the film once. In this case, we suggest listening to the tips below. This will help to plan the process and save time. Or you can search help write my essay or ‘help write a review’ and choose the most suitable service for you.
Preparation
Study the sources
Find out all the basic facts about the movie. You can do this before or after watching the film, but definitely before writing the review: you will need the information to enrich the story. Such as:
- The name and year of the film.
- The name of the director.
- Names of the main actors.
- The genre of the film.
Take notes while watching the movie. Before watching the movie, get a notebook or laptop to take notes. Movies are long, so you need to write something down before remembering details or essential plot points. Notes will allow you to record important information you can refer back to later briefly.
Write down the movie’s positive and negative features: costumes, makeup, the type of scene, music, and so on. Think about how these details fit into the film and what they might mean in the context of your review. Make notes about the structure of the film as the story unfolds. Use pause and rewind to make sure you get everything.
Analyze the technical aspects of the film.
For example, the different components that merge on the screen. Note your impression of the film during or after watching it, in particular, the following aspects:
- The work of the director. Think about how the director portrayed and explained the events of the plot. If the film was too long or lacked essential episodes, it can be attributed to the director. Compare the movie you have watched with other works (if you have watched them) of the same author and choose the best film in your opinion.
- Camera work. What techniques did the operator use for shooting? What scenery and background elements allowed us to achieve the desired effect?
- Script. Evaluate the screenplay, dialogues, and images. How would you describe the plot as original and unpredictable or dull and weak? Do you “believe” the characters of the film?
- Editing. Did the film look smooth, or were the transitions rough? Pay attention to the use of visual effects. If there are computer graphics in the movie, consider whether they are realistic and fit well into the film.
- Costumes. Does the characters’ clothing choice fit the film’s overall style? Is there any dissonance in this sense?
- The scenery. Think about how the locations of the film influenced the other elements of the film. Did they enhance or weaken the overall impression? If the film was shot in real places, were they well chosen?
- Music or soundtrack. Was the music appropriate? Was there too much or too little of it? Was it disturbing? Surprising? Irritating? The soundtrack can make or break a film, especially if the songs have special significance in the movie.
Watch the movie.
It’s impossible to fully understand a movie you’ve only watched once, especially if you’ve often pressed “pause” to write something down. Watch it at least once more before you start writing your review. Please pay attention to details you might have missed the first time you watched it. Focus on something else during the second viewing: for example, if the first time you were paying close attention to the actors, now evaluate the work of the cameraman.
Writing a review
Formulate an original opinion based on your analysis of the film.
Now you have thoroughly studied the film: what interesting conclusions could you draw? Start with any main idea and support it with your observations of different film elements. This thought should become the subject of the first paragraph of your review. Having a thesis statement will allow you to go directly to the criticism by briefly talking about the film’s plot. To formulate the central thesis, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the film reflect contemporary events and problems? In this way, the director wants to say something significant. Try to “transfer” the events of the movie to life.
- Does the film carry a message, or is it intended to evoke a specific response in the viewer? Reflect on whether it has achieved its goals in this case.
- Does the film touch your personal feelings? Write a review based on your emotions and tell a few stories from your life – this will make it more interesting.
After the thesis paragraph, there should be a summary of the plot. You need to give readers an idea of what they will see if they watch the film you are reviewing. Name the main characters, and describe the place of action and the film’s main plot. But never break the first rule of writing a review: keep telling a secret – you will destroy the movie for the viewer!
When naming the characters, put the names of the actors who played them in brackets. Mention the name of the director and the full title of the film. If you consider it necessary to touch upon the moments that may become “spoilers” for the viewer, warn the reader about it in advance.
Continue to analyze the film.
Write several paragraphs discussing exciting features of the film that support your thesis. Write about the acting, directing, filming, location, etc. Write quickly, and – it will help to captivate the reader.
Your style should be straightforward. Don’t use too much professional technical jargon – write concisely and clearly. Support your opinion with facts. For example, it will be much more successful to say – “The background music of the Baroque era contrasted sharply with the twentieth-century picture” – than say that “The choice of music is strange.”
Use lots of examples to illustrate your point.
If you are writing about a movie, pick a good example to back it up. Describe the scene, how a particular character acted, the camera angle, etc. You can quote dialogues. This way, you give the reader a “feel” for the film while expressing your opinion.
Make the review “your own.”
You can certainly write something like a school essay, but it is much better to write from the heart. The review should be no exception if your natural writing style is witty and funny. If you are serious and dramatic, that’s fine too. Let the text of the review reflect you as a person – it is much more interesting for the reader!
End your review with a conclusion.
It should confirm your initial thesis and serve as a guideline for the reader to watch the movie or not. The conclusion should also be written excitingly – it’s an excellent way to wrap things up.
Polishing
Edit your review.
When you finish writing the first draft, read it carefully and decide if it is “light” enough and if its structure is correct. You may need to swap paragraphs, delete some sentences or add some material. Edit your review at least once – maybe even two or three times – before you decide it is worthy of being “on the front page.”
Answer the following questions: does your review correspond to the central thesis? How does your conclusion relate to the prominent opinions offered?
Think about whether your review has enough details about the film. You should add some description to make it more apparent to the reader what the film is about.
Is your review exciting and original enough? Did you bring something of your own? What will the viewer learn from your review that they will not know by simply watching the movie?
Check your review for errors.
Ensure the actors’ names are spelled correctly and all dates are correct. Correct typos, grammatical, spelling, and other errors. Unlike a study with silly mistakes, an error-free review will look professional.\
Tips.
It should be understood that if a film is not to your taste, it does not mean you should speak negatively about it. A good critic helps the reader find a movie he will like. Therefore, understanding that everyone’s tastes are different, you should be able to tell the reader whether they will enjoy the “film, even if you didn’t like it.
Read a lot of movie reviews and try to determine what makes some of them more valuable than all the others. Again, a good review is not one that the reader agrees with but one that helps the reader understand whether they will like the film. If you don’t like the film, don’t give it a biased or offensive review. Avoid watching a movie that you obviously won’t like.
