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2017 Movie News Archives

November 24, 2017: "Justice League" - Why Do Critics and Audience Reviews Differ So Much?

"Justice League" has been out for a week now, and while the critical reviews haven't been great, the audience reviews have been quite positive.

So why the difference?

Here's my problem with the way people review movies these days...

Nobody judges a movie by what they sit and watch in the theatre anymore!

Remember the days when you just went in, found your seat, sat and watched the story unfold in front of your eyes, and then formed your own opinion based on what you'd just watched?

Nobody does that anymore! Before they've even gone anywhere near the theatre, they're already preloaded with information on what happened to the director, how this actor had to do this, how the studio executives wanted this, what the producer's dog ate for breakfast... and they come out the other end judging the film NOT on what they saw, but on what they didn't see, what they heard could have been, what they think happened behind the scenes for this, that and the other to turn out the way it did.

Almost nobody is judging "Justice League" on the film they saw on the big screen!

Instead they're arguing about:
What was filmed by Zack Snyder?
What was filmed by Joss Whedon?
Why was this scene cut from the movie?
Why wasn't the film three hours long?
When will we see Zack Snyder's cut of the movie?
Why did Henry Cavill's mustache cause so many problems?
Why wasn't Junkie XL allowed to score the film?

And a million other questions that frankly have very little to do with the real question: "Did you enjoy the movie you watched?"

People are judging the movie on what they heard, read and think they know about what happened behind-the-scenes, during the making of the movie and in post-production. They're carrying all that uneccesary baggage with them when judging the film. DON'T! JUST STOP!

Seriously! How many OTHER movies or TV shows do we, as the general public, do this to? I recently watched both seasons of "Stranger Things" and fell in love with the series. Absolutely loved it! I'd never heard of the Duffer brothers before, I have no idea how the show was filmed, whether there was any problems or dramas behind-the-scenes, during filming, editing... nothing. I don't know whether they originally intended for this character to live or die, whether they cut any scenes, or altered plans mid-show. Knowing that kind of detail isn't important to the real question: "Did I enjoy the TV show I watched?"

Fans "in the know" are ruining the experience for themselves by spending more time worrying about how and why a movie was made, instead of just enjoying the entertainment put in front of them.

As I said, audience reviews for "Justice League" have been mostly positive (as of this writing 83% liked it on RottenTomatoes.com). Yet the score for the "in the know" critics sits at 41%. I ask again, why the difference?

It's my opinion that the general public are the ones who are simply judging this movie on what they see... and they're enjoying it. Good for them! Let's hope they continue to spread the word.

Steve Younis

2017 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2017 organized into various categories:

“Justice League” Movie News: “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” Movie News: Christopher Reeve Movie News: Other Movie News:

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