Writing Reviews
1. It is your opinion – but like a persuasive essay – you have to back
up your opinion with examples.
2. You MUST include certain facts from the movie.
a. Director
b. Distributor (20th Century Fox, etc)
c. Date released
d. Main actors and the characters they play
e. Plot summary
f. Descriptions of something else noteworthy – score,
cinematography, great performance of a secondary
character, great setting ect.
g. Movie rating – G, PG, etc.
h. Running time
People expect to know certain things from a review.
 What was the acting like? Did the actors nail their characters,
did they have trouble, were they believable, etc. Was it a good
casting choice (think to Twilight movie series with KStew as
Bella)
 If it’s an action movie – how many explosions, were there any slow
parts, did the dialogue meet action movie standards, was there
too much romance, etc.
 If it’s a drama movie – did the director focus too much on action,
did the characters mesh well together, were the actors
believable in their roles.
 If it’s a remake – how did the original compare to the newer
version, where did it improve, where is it lacking?
 Comedy – was it funny, what jokes fell flat, was it too long for a
comedy, were the actors funny enough for it?
Your opinion:
You’re writing a review so people want to know what you thought about
the movie. You can’t just say: this movie was bad.
You have to provide the reader with examples from the movie without
giving away the ending. If you didn’t like the movie because it was an
action movie, but focused too much on romance you’ll need to explain
what parts strayed from being action.
You have to keep an open mind going into a review. You may change your
mind by the time you finish watching the movie or reading the book.