Video of the Week: I Hate Review Scores (by I Hate Everything)

Review scores are extremely relative. Two people can assign the same number towards a film but have completely different reasons why they assigned that particular number. Other times, you can see that a film has been given a high rating and you just can’t see why, or you’ve given a film a high rating and someone else questions you. Review scores are entirely controlled by opinions.

After I’ve sat down and watched a film, I then give my opinion on whether I liked it or not afterwards. I used to give films a number score, but nowadays I’ve abandoned that concept because, giving a film a number has a sense of finality towards it. By leaving the numbers out of it, there’s more room to play with your opinions.

Take the film, The Internship, for example. The movie is about two forty-something men who are stuck in the past. The business they were working for, selling watches among other analogue items has been forced to close down due to people converting to digital. Instead of wearing watches, they check the time on their phones. I find it easier to check the time with a watch than on my phone because it’s actually quicker, but that’s just me. Anyway, these two people need to find a new job and fast, and after doing some research, they get an interview with the one and only company, Google. The very moment they enter the grounds of Google, seeing all its vast technology and the many young people getting ready to handle any task because they are familiar with today, not tomorrow. After coming up against some difficult tasks and being laughed at because they don’t understand how everything works, they learn how to blend the past with the future by combining their skills as a salesman with technology to get a company to start using the internet to promote their business to bring in many, many more customers from all over the country.

During the first sitting, I didn’t actually like the film. There were a couple of pacing problems, the night club scene felt a bit unnecessary within the concept of the film (unrated version only), and it felt a bit too easy in that sense they went from not knowing anything about technology to knowing so much about it quickly – hence the pacing problems.

I expressed my opinion of the film to a friend who in turn expressed his and actually persuaded me to give it another chance, which I did, and I was able to see the film in a different light.

It’s told through the eyes of the forty-something blokes who know they are in way too deep but must keep going because this is all they have. The pacing problems, which made the film seem too easy, was actually covered by the film itself because the two characters were in disbelief that they are able to pick it up so quickly. They knew that it was an implausible possibility, but they continued at it and it became a possibility. The nightclub scene was just a thing to show the young people what they are missing. Whether or not I think the scene was unnecessary isn’t really in debate anymore – it somewhat helped move the story forwards.

What I’m trying to say here is if I had given the film a number, when it came to discussing it, I would have had to express my opinion within the parameters of that number instead of having a bit of flexibility, which ultimately lead me to give the film a second chance, and me abandoning the concept of giving a film a review score. Just saying that I like and why, and I dislike it and why, or even why I hate it and why is all that I need.

There is another system that rates films. It’s probably even more popular than the number system, and that’s the star system. Giving a film a number of stars from one to five gives us, the public, a quick insight to what the film’s like.

1 star = Poor. 2 stars = Average. 3 stars = Good. 4 stars = Very good. 5 stars = Excellent.

Seeing a film with many five star ratings tells us that it is a brilliant film that needs to be watched, but when you do, you may not like it and give it a lower rating that most of the critics. Sometimes, when you watch a film that has been universally acclaimed, you may not understand why, and it is that opinion that someone else doesn’t understand properly and vice versa.

Pixar is my favourite film-making company. They have knocked it out of the park nearly every time. Their sensational, Inside Out, which explores the feelings inside a child’s mind as they grow up and experience new things. It’s funny, sad, enjoyable, and lovable throughout, and it instantly became one of my top favourite Pixar films, beating that of Toy Story 3 that came out in 2010. It’s easy to give that a score of 10/10, and five stars, because I love it so. It’s also easy to give Toy Story 3 a score of 10/10, and five stars. According the review scores, they are on the same level in brilliance, but going by that logic, because I like Inside Out more, would I have to give it a 11/10, and six stars?

I’m not saying that we should abandon review scores and star ratings completely, because I perfectly understand why people use them, and the video above explains three different opinions on the same topic and why.

In a way, review scores are there to tell the public which film is worth watching and what film isn’t worth watching. If we choose to put our time into a film that has been getting praise from many critics, it doesn’t mean you should say why it is a good film if you dislike it in any way. Films are designed to emotionally sway you, and an opinion is to express that emotion.

At the end of the day, it’s your opinion that matters, and if that opinion is a number whether high or low, then that’s all that matters.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)