A movie is an art form and a story that can make you laugh, cry, or think. Many are family favorites, bringing on gales of laughter and helping to shape a generation of kids’ personalities and values. Others are action-packed, inspiring, or give us a glimpse into other worlds. A movie can be so powerful, it can change your perceptions of life and reality forever.
Plot & Content
To write a comprehensive movie review, you need to take in both the plot and the characters. Analyze the movie’s themes and how they work with the plot, and consider how the director uses cinematic elements like music and sound design to convey those ideas.
You should also study a film’s setting and how the director brings its various aspects to life. You can even go so far as to analyze a movie’s technical qualities, such as the film’s lighting and camera angles.
Ultimately, your goal is to inform your readers about the movie and why you like or dislike it. Your readers want to know not just what you thought about the movie’s content and how it was portrayed onscreen, but also why it was made and what the directors or producers were trying to accomplish.
A great example of this is The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola’s epic tale of a mafia family. While the story is about mafia activity, it is also a story about family loyalty and morality versus power. It is a complex film with numerous themes, all of which can be seen in the sweeping visuals and chilly atmosphere. Akira Kurosawa also explored similar themes in his samurai epic, Ran, which is based on Shakespeare’s King Lear and Japanese legends about the daimyo Mori Motonari.