A movie review gives an indication as to whether or not others will find the movie worth watching. The purpose of most movie reviews is to help the reader in determining whether they want to watch, rent or buy the movie. The review should also give enough details about the movie so that the reader can make a right choice. For that the review must deal with all important aspects of the movie such as the plot or the story.



In this article, we will be discussing the guidelines, which should be followed while writing a movie review. Before starting to write a review, the writer should select the movie he is going to write about. Knowing the details of the movie, such as its director, actors, story and such things is important. Then the reviewer should formulate his own opinion in one sentence. Lastly, special scenes from the movie or other things that will support the writer's opinion have to be selected and given.

The first step in writing the review is to watch the movie. Most movie reviewers take notes as they watch the movie itself. Watching the movie a second time helps to absorb a lot more details about the movie. Most movie reviewers give their opinion of the movie only after watching it a second or third time. In all good journalism, the reviewer should always give impartial details, and allow the readers to make their own opinion about the film.

Reviewer's opinions should be explained to allow the reader to determine whether they would agree with his opinion. The reviewer also needs to consider the audience. Writing a movie review for children requires a different approach than writing for a general movie audience. The review should always be written keeping the targeted audience in mind. The main essence of the movie should be retained in an outlined sketch. But it should always be remembered not to give away any essential details like surprises or a sudden turn in the plot.

Details of actors, crew members, and directors should be mentioned. It should also be mentioned how well they have acted and how well the movie has been made technically. The technicalities are an important part of the movie review. Technicalities include art direction, music, editing, lighting, cinematography and the like.

Movie reviews even include a little bit of criticism if needed. Criticism says what could have been done to make the film better or what the weak points of the movie are. Though critical analysis is not always needed, a word or two in that manner can be very good at times.

A reviewer must always remember to give an outline of the whole story, but not give away details which hold surprises or the special essence of the film. It should be kept untold to keep the suspense. The movie review should be written keeping a note of the types of readers who would be reading the review. The language, presentation and the technicalities of writing would also depend on the types of readers. The medium in which the review will be published is also important, because if the review is published on the net the reviewer will get mostly young readers but if it is going to be published in a local language in a local daily the approach should be different.