Movies: Why are you angry about movie critics?

[JS19]

One of the fundamental issues is that people completely misunderstand the aggregate rating in RT. They assume that the number is reflective of the quality of the movie, when in actuality, it reflects how many critics rated the movie fresh in a sample. The stronger indicator of quality is when you see the average rating underneath the aggregate number. Furthermore, they use this as the be-all end-all rather than taking the reviews into consideration and seeing for themselves, which is an issue in the sense that people use RT to weed out all the **** films, and spend their money on something that they have predetermined will be a good and enjoyable film, when it may not be the case and vice versa.

Now that it's out of the way, the other large issue is the fanboy mentality that people have with regards to the movies. And this goes for both sides of the equation. For instance, people were insanely hyped for Man of Steel/BvS up until the twitter reviews came out, and people shrugged them off because they rationalized that critics didn't like the movies because they were "paid off by Marvel/they only like artsy indie films/they aren't part of the movie's demographics/they're too stupid to understand the themes!". What this speaks to is an inability to argue why you like or dislike the movie using what the movie communicates. And even if you do communicate what you like/dislike quite strongly, you're still going to be faced with asinine comments like "LOL UR DUMB RT SAID IT'S GOOD/BAD."

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I for one feel that we shouldn't have total trust in our initial instincts anyways and that it's a good thing to be impressionable, particularly by people who have more invested into the thing than we do. It only helps. It doesn't prevent us from making up our own mind about what we like. Our own impressions only have significance when we consider other impressions and allow ourselves to be temporarily swept away by the ones that are compelling.

I'll third this.
As I mentioned earlier, I like reading critical assessments and I (most of the time) enjoy discussions here.

That sort of interaction can both open your eyes to things you may not be thinking/noticing. It also can sharpen your own tastes/beliefs.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

All this over Suicide Squad?

That's just the current example. There was a fair amount of blowback on critics after the reception they gave Batman V. Superman too.

I'm sure there are historic examples as well, but those are two fresh, fairly vehement cases.

 

[Shareefruck]

People like superhero movies like Avengers or The Dark Knight-- fair enough. But I'm pretty surprised that all this commotion was about Suicide Squad and Batman vs. Superman. I didn't see them, but both of them looked so lame/un-promising, even by superhero movie standards, IMO.

 

[discostu]

What often frustrates me on the subject is those that claim that critical opinion of films doesn't influence their mivie choices, and that they made up their own mind on what to see.

That's essentially giving your movie dollars to whoever has the best marketing campaign.

Strong critical reviews is a powerful tool for lesser known films to stand out from the pack.

 

[Whiplash27]

I don't go to movies often, so I certainly wouldn't waste money to see a movie in theaters if it's rated bad. If it's rated bad, I'll just wait to see it on NetFlix or something... I'm sure many other people feel the same.

 

[Kurtz]

People like superhero movies like Avengers or The Dark Knight-- fair enough. But I'm pretty surprised that all this commotion was about Suicide Squad and Batman vs. Superman. I didn't see them, but both of them looked so lame/un-promising, even by superhero movie standards, IMO.

This kinda thing annoys me quite a bit. People who don't take the time to learn anything about a subject, but will rush to forums or social media to express their hot take on it.

 

[Shareefruck]

I'm not rushing to a conclusion about it's quality, I'm just describing what reaction resulted from an admittedly uninformed perception of it that could very easily be wrong.

That's another pet peeve of mine-- People are so sensitive about things like that. Saying "I'm surprised that people like this" or "I'm surprised that people don't like this" or "Huh. That's odd. It didn't LOOK very good, but look at this reaction by people who say otherwise" is not the same as saying or even hinting "This is good/bad and you should all feel ashamed to feel differently", yet people are always so willing to jump to that conclusion.

 

[Nalens Oga]

Aggregated reviews are an invaluable resource for me because otherwise I'd be watching films based on trailers which wouldn't turn out well (though I wouldn't rely on RT alone for it, there's also IMDB, Letterboxd, Criticker, etc). It's worked out pretty well for me, I haven't seen a movie I truly hate in years (though I'm not a critic that watches several films a week).

There's a fine-line though and reviews being overdone with big films can get annoying (not everyone is Roger Ebert) plus this new phenomenon of reviews/analysis of the review is a bit of an eyesore. I actually got so annoyed the other day at the amount of reviews relating to Suicide Squad and Ghostbusters earlier dominating the /r/Movies section of reddit that I started my own sub for movie talk/recommendation (www.reddit.com/r/Filmheads for anyone interested). Obviously as with other things, I think people forget that they don't have to pay attention to it, there are a lot of corners of the internet and it's not like we're solely reliant on TV force-feeding us certain news/topics.

 

[kihei]

Maybe it is a little like hockey fans getting pissed off at local sportswriters when they criticize the home team. There's a mistaken sense of betrayal, but I think most people grow out of that reaction eventually.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I would split a hair, though. I would make a distinction between reviews and criticism. Generally, I'd argue that a review is something one usually reads before seeing a movie--it's a way of finding out a bit of what the movie is about and whether it seems worth seeing. Film criticism is something one usually reads after seeing a movie in an attempt to explore more deeply the experience of watching a given film. The former is an immediate response to a movie by a writer; the latter may be the product of long and serious contemplation by a writer. Regarding the present discussion, it seems to me that movie reviewers are under attack, not film critics, who relatively few people read.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Those angry fans are the ones who've put a whole lot of energy and excitement into hoping Suicide Squad is awesome and they're lashing out in pre-disappointment. It's slightly too soon for any of them to have seen the movie and have any ammunition of their own, so they have no other answer until Friday.

When they'll all probably shut up upon being let down by Hollywood again.

 

[Shareefruck]

Maybe it is a little like hockey fans getting pissed off at local sportswriters when they criticize the home team. There's a mistaken sense of betrayal, but I think most people grow out of that reaction eventually.

As a Canuck fan, I get very much the opposite thing happen. Nothing's more frustrating than when sportswriters drink the Koolaid that an incompetent management sells and essentially become their PR guys.

 

[CycloneLaunch]

It has become especially ridiculous with Suicide Squad, seems like a lot of DC Comic fans just want a film universe to rival Marvels and are throwing their toys out of the pram over bad reviews. I wanted to see Suicide Squad after seeing the trailer, but after seeing the reaction probably won't even bother to steal it, I assume i'm not alone either. I don't really read reviews (unless, like yesterday the reaction to a film goes viral) this site and reddit are generally what I use to gauge reaction to a movie.

 

[PeteWorrell]

It has become especially ridiculous with Suicide Squad, seems like a lot of DC Comic fans just want a film universe to rival Marvels and are throwing their toys out of the pram over bad reviews. I wanted to see Suicide Squad after seeing the trailer, but after seeing the reaction probably won't even bother to steal it, I assume i'm not alone either. I don't really read reviews (unless, like yesterday the reaction to a film goes viral) this site and reddit are generally what I use to gauge reaction to a movie.

They should be mad at DC for trying to do everything too quickly.Marvel actually took their time building their universe and introducing characters that weren't very well know.The general movie goer didn't care about Iron Man or Thor until Marvel made them care.The way that DC introduced more obscure characters like Aquaman and Cyborg was simply laughable.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Maybe it is a little like hockey fans getting pissed off at local sportswriters when they criticize the home team. There's a mistaken sense of betrayal, but I think most people grow out of that reaction eventually.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I would split a hair, though. I would make a distinction between reviews and criticism. Generally, I'd argue that a review is something one usually reads before seeing a movie--it's a way of finding out a bit of what the movie is about and whether it seems worth seeing. Film criticism is something one usually reads after seeing a movie in an attempt to explore more deeply the experience of watching a given film. The former is an immediate response to a movie by a writer; the latter may be the product of long and serious contemplation by a writer. Regarding the present discussion, it seems to me that movie reviewers are under attack, not film critics, who relatively few people read.

I agree with these distinctions, but I'm not sure the general public does. Or, for that matter that the general public cares, since as you noted, many probably aren't seeking out critics in the truest sense.
I'm betting many see reviewer and critic as the same.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Maybe it is a little like hockey fans getting pissed off at local sportswriters when they criticize the home team. There's a mistaken sense of betrayal, but I think most people grow out of that reaction eventually.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, I would split a hair, though. I would make a distinction between reviews and criticism. Generally, I'd argue that a review is something one usually reads before seeing a movie--it's a way of finding out a bit of what the movie is about and whether it seems worth seeing. Film criticism is something one usually reads after seeing a movie in an attempt to explore more deeply the experience of watching a given film. The former is an immediate response to a movie by a writer; the latter may be the product of long and serious contemplation by a writer. Regarding the present discussion, it seems to me that movie reviewers are under attack, not film critics, who relatively few people read.

Very very very very important distinction indeed. I don't even know why I used the word critic so wrongly.

My lack of interest is about reviewers, I enjoy serious critics that can teach you something about cinema. Heck, I had to read a ton throughout my schooling.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Am I? I don't think I am...

Let me check.








Nope, I ain't angry at movie critics.

 

[Jussi]

They should be mad at DC for trying to do everything too quickly.Marvel actually took their time building their universe and introducing characters that weren't very well know.The general movie goer didn't care about Iron Man or Thor until Marvel made them care.The way that DC introduced more obscure characters like Aquaman and Cyborg was simply laughable.

The hardcore fans at SSH forums seem to be really gunning for the people running the show (especially Snyder). Even the user review thread for SS is filled with reviews that basically agree with the critics.

 

[Emperoreddy]

It rolls both ways. Some people get upside or vindicated when something they like gets praised or lambasted.

Some people get upset or vindicated when something they want to hate gets praised or lambasted.

Problem with critics is they can easily get swept up in a narrative and that will always piss someone off. It happened with BvS (it wasn't as bad as critics seemed to want it to be). It happened with Ghostbusters. It happened with Boyhood a few years ago (movie got way to much praise).

Find looking at critic reviews is almost always best for movies divorced from some kind of hype. When a movie has some kind of hype in either direction, critics look to get clicks by having the hottest take in one or the other direction.

 

[Knave]

I'd have to read the pieces by critics to get angry about them.

I just ask friends, family, co-workers and anyone else... for other stuff - if I'm at home and happen across it, I will give it a shot if the description seems interesting. I'm trying to be more liberal with descriptions because I have come across some interesting TV shows which sounded horrible at first glance.

 

[Emperoreddy]

This kinda thing annoys me quite a bit. People who don't take the time to learn anything about a subject, but will rush to forums or social media to express their hot take on it.

We are in a clickbait, hot take culture and that is why people get annoyed.

In regards to the hockey reference. It is one thing to have well thought out critical analysis of the home team, even if it is negative. It is entirely different when it is just crappy click bait. Our two former beat writers each fit into these categories. One would give an honest assessment no matter what the fanbase's mood was. He would be negative when the fans wanted positive, and would defend when the fans were in "fire everyone mode". The other just put out ****** click bait articles that went with what people were complaining about at the time. That is the worst.

 

[Shareefruck]

I hate the term "Hot take". Can we please stop validating its existence by using it?

 

[karnige]

Fanboys are silly and critics serve a purpose.


If you hate critics and don't trust them for whatever reason...then...ignore them. That is an option.

its an opinion. plain and simple. I do think that some DC fans starting a petition and crying about it is making all of DC look sad.

 

[DyerMaker66*]

I'm giving this thread my worst rating ever.

7 thumbs up.

But you always liked my Pork Chops.

 

[DyerMaker66*]

Hey gang, hot take here

I hate the term "Hot take". Can we please stop validating its existence by using it?