Review Responses

[MasochisticAvenger]

Alright, I know this is going to get a lot of people angry and probably cause a massive backlash towards myself. I am also aware that the people in question are only a small minority on this website, and if it feels like I'm generalizing it is not my intention. It's just a little annoying to have to qualify each sentence by adding "not that everyone is like this", so I'll just put it here. With that out of the way, let's begin.

Some of the responses to reviews on the internet need to stop. I know this has been going on for a while, but it started becoming more apparent to me when I read the comments to MovieBob's recent Spiderman and Batman reviews. Now before I move on, let me make one thing clear, if you disagree with Bob's opinion on those movies there is nothing wrong with that. Personally, I found Bob to be way too harsh on Spiderman when it was really just an alright film in my opinion. Nothing spectacular, but nothing overly horrible either.

You know what I didn't do though? I didn't immediately jump onto the comments section, and have a whinge because his opinion didn't match up perfectly with mine. I'm not talking about the people who reply with well reasoned arguments, more conversation like that would make the review process far more interesting. I'm talking about the people who personally attack the reviewer in question, and especially the ones who try to act like their opinion is fact.

Seriously guys, some of the comments I read were downright disgusting. If you don't agree with someone's opinion, that's fine, but that's no reason to start attacking them. Saying things like "I really loved your videos, but because you didn't give nothing but mindless praise to this one movie your credibility has suddenly gone out the window.

Also, and the fact I have to say this out loud really sucks, reviews are based on opinion. What you thought of a movie, and what someone else thought of a movie, is all based on opinion. Just because you liked a movie doesn't mean everyone else is going to, and spouting things like "How dare you think The Dark Knight is better than The Dark Knight Rises... The Dark Knight Rises is so obviously superior, and you're just wrong if you don't like it" and "Well you liked X, so your opinion is invalidated" just makes you look childish and immature.

I mean hell, Bob said the Dark Knight was good and still people bitched at him. Why would you even watch the review if any criticisms of the movie was going to hurt you so deeply (as it seems to have done with some commenters).

I really have to ask: what is the point of reviews anymore? They seem to have gone from informing people about whether a movie is any good, to being nothing more than validation of one's already formed opinion, or awareness for some obscure movie or video game I guess. It really does seem to be becoming a case of "If someone disagrees with my opinion, they are a terrible reviewer with no credibility" and quite frankly that's just sad.

 

[Shadowstar38]

I tend to use reviews as a way to stop myself from wasting money on shitty movies and games. You know that if a reviewer gives 1 star out of 5 to something, its going to review poorly everywhere because, there is just some stuff that went objectively wrong with it.

The opinion part comes in when deciding wheter or not the things they fucked up made the whole movie bad. Personally, I think because has to view movies in his professional, "This has to be up to cinema standards" lense, he judges things more harshly than he should.

 

[MasochisticAvenger]

I tend to use reviews as a way to stop myself from wasting money on shitty movies and games. You know that if a reviewer gives 1 star out of 5 to something, its going to review poorly everywhere because, there is just some stuff that went objectively wrong with it.

The opinion part comes in when deciding wheter or not the things they fucked up made the whole movie bad. Personally, I think because has to view movies in his professional, "This has to be up to cinema standards" lense, he judges things more harshly than he should.

See, I don't have a problem with people disagreeing with a review and wanting to make discussion about it. It can make for some pretty interesting discussions when done properly. The problem is a lot of people dont want to do that; a lot of people simply want reviews to validate their own opinion. I am tired of seeing people act as if their opinion is fact.

Don't get me wrong, if there is a reviewer who I constantly disagree with I probably will not pay much attention to them. However, it gets downright ridiculous when I see comments where people proclaim they are boycotting a certain reviewer because they disagreed with their opinion on one movie. Hell, just pointing out any flaws in a movie seems to set some people off.

 

[shogunblade]

I tend to use reviews as a way to stop myself from wasting money on shitty movies and games. You know that if a reviewer gives 1 star out of 5 to something, its going to review poorly everywhere because, there is just some stuff that went objectively wrong with it.

The problem is that it goes right back to the masochisticavenger's original point. Reviews are opinion, and sometimes you have to take risks for things you may or may not like.

Roger Ebert (Don't lambast in a "Games = Art" discussion, just making a point) did not like David Lynch's Blue Velvet upon release. He gave it a 1 out of 4, and he, to this day, has maintained that review score. Doesn't match up with everybody else's review of the movie: It had been praised after Dune and its critical tongue-lashing. As a result, Dune is a movie I have not finished (Not without some No-Doz in hand), but I consider Blue Velvet to be a movie I throughly and entirely love, even though I disagree with Roger's opinion (and I read his reviews frequently enough to say I am a fan).

Though on the same token, he did give the Transformer Movies (with the exception of the first one) 1 out of 4 stars, and if it wasn't for the fact I got to enjoy a bad movie with my friends, I would have freaked out over that sack of crap.

In the end, try and rent, it's the best way of finding out if a Reviewer is speaking honestly about something or if they are pulling the wool over somebody's eyes, and still, it's not enough.

I didn't love Arkham City, but it is still a good game. I wish people wouldn't attack me for liking what I like, if you see what I'm saying.

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

I tend to disregard review's. It's a matter of opinion. If someone doesn't like something, I might so I don't care about someone else's opinion. A reviewer is perfectly welcome to disagree with me. I hate people who post on comment's complaining because someone feels differently to them. It's a forum for debate, your word is not law, if you can't accept anyone else's opinion go away and screw yourself with a cactus

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

"Well you liked X, so your opinion is invalidated" just makes you look childish and immature.

This in particular is a bit of a pet peeve of mine; digging something out of context to discredit them rather than make any attempt to refute the points being made. I don't give a shit if Bob liked Sucker Punch or that someone like Mark Kermode enjoys the Twilight films, as bewildering as I find those opinions I listen to these people because I find them engaging and articulate and I want to ascertain why they think something is good or bad, not what they like. Every critic is going to have at least one film that is almost universally deemed shit and consequently every critic will have at least one moment hung over their head for the rest of their days by people who've solidified their convictions on them and their opinion on the basis of said moment. And I feel this is indicative of a rather defensive mentality exuded on the internet wherein any criticism of some piece of media they hold dear to them is not only met with the reply that they respectfully disagree for [insert reasons here] but a retort which say's that this clearly demonstrate's the critic's ineptitude or preconceived biases. That being said there are legitimately issues to be taken with Bob and other reviewers; particularly in the attitude he conveyed in his Transformers reviews (let me say preemptively that I care nothing for Michael Bay in general) and I think he still fails to understand that the vehement backlash he incurred was not because of the opinion he held, but the calumnious representation he made of anyone who happened to like the film. There's a hell of a difference between calling a movie a piece of shit and calling someone an idiotic twat for liking it. The latter seeps into the purview of elitism and people are right to be perturbed by that, the former is simply a matter of opinion/personal taste and something people really need to grow thicker skin about if they're driven to petty derision over it. Not saying I am/have been necessarily perfect myself when it comes to this mind you, but I'll be the first to acknowledge when I'm being a petty dick over something and at the end of the day your enjoyment of something really shouldn't be unsettled simply over a few anonymous dissenters.

/Rant over.

Captcha = wax poetic

...I think the Captcha's getting passive-aggressive with me. >.>