Movie Reviews: Just One Person’s Opinion
things, and those reading professional movie reviews should realize that the review is simply a tool with which they can evaluate what their own reaction to the piece is likely to be. Using this information, one can decide whether a film is worth the cost of the ticket for them or their cinema group.
Hobbyist reviews on sites like Rotten Tomatoes and other internet websites have gained popularity over the years because they aggregate the reactions – not the professional reviews – of a wide number of people. Where a professional critic’s review is just the reaction of one person, these aggregating sites offer the perspective of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of average viewers who can provide a look at their gut reaction to the content of a film and pass that on to other viewers. This is useful for picking a movie based on mainstream tastes, however, one should