I know quite a few people whose opinions of movie critics go something a little like this: (which I’ve copied almost verbatim from a Facebook friend’s status)
“Professional movie critics said such-and-such movie was terrible, so naturally it turned out to be amazing!”
And I guess I can understand this kind of mentality. Critics can often be . . . well . . . critical, and that attitude sometimes comes off as a bit . . .
pretentious, condescending, and aloof.
In fact, the character of the aptly named Anton Ego brilliantly posits the great irony of being a critic.
“In many ways the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and themselves to our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”
So, of course, one can understand why people are often less than inclined to give a listening ear to a critic’s opinion, particularly when it comes to entertainment. After all, the average Joe goes to the movies for entertainment and escapism, not necessarily art—why on Earth would he want some self-important blowhard telling him what to enjoy?
Having said that, I’ve always given credence to the opinions of movie critics. Why? Well, when I need car buying advice, I don’t go to my aunt who’s never changed the oil. When shopping for a new computer, I’m not going to talk to my mom who still doesn’t entirely understand what Google is. If I’m going to Italy, I’m not going to talk to my friend who’s never been out of the country about what sights to see. So why do I go to my aunt, my mom, or my friend for recommendations of where I should spend upwards of ten dollars on a Friday night when there’s a whole industry of people trained to give me those kinds of recommendations?
At the end of the day, movie critics have spent A LOT of time either in a classroom or elsewhere watching A LOT of movies and figuring out how they work and what they do. I trust that they know what they’re talking about. Long ago I came to the conclusion that if a film with tons of critical praise leaves me scratching my head, maybe the problem is not necessarily that the critics don’t know what they’re talking about . . . maybe I just don’t understand movies like they do, and I could try to learn something from them. Doing so has opened up my understanding of film and has helped me to enjoy a much wider and more diverse range of cinema than otherwise.
So before I continue, allow me to quickly suggest those of you out there who embrace the “critics are always wrong” attitude to maybe consider a new mode of thinking.
Having said that, the past few weeks have left me confused as hell. Let’s being with . . .
May 10, The Great Gatsby
Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 50%
Metacritic: 55
Okay, when this first came out the reviews didn’t shock me all that much. I had hoped for better, but let’s face it, the expectations for Gatsby are just way too high. While it’s exceeded expectations in the box office by pulling in way more than anyone projected, people expected less from the History Channel miniseries based. on. the. Bible . . . the Bible!
So, again, the critics may have been harsh, but it was understandable.
Then this happened:
May 17, Star Trek: Into Darkness
Tomatometer: 87%
Metacritic: 72
I mean, okay, this was an entertaining film, but I certainly wouldn’t say it was that much better than Gatsby. In fact, I wouldn’t say it’s better than Gatsby. Despite how much some of my friends love this one, I can’t help but notice some serious flaws: the villain’s motives are never fully fleshed out, the plot has some serious inconsistencies and loose ends, and so much is derivative of films that have come before it. (we couldn’t find another way to learn who the villain is than by interrogating him through glass? We’ve seen that how many times now?)
But, again, I guess I can see how Gatsby would have been subject to much harsher criticism than this, your standard summer blockbuster fare. Such films can get away more with contrived characters, forced plot movement, and general banality.
And then this happened:
May 24, Now You See Me
Tomatometer: 49%
Metacritic: 50
So, Into Darkness can get away with plot issues and some contrived moments . . . but this can’t? This, with a wildly entertaining cast and enough escapism to be an amusing two-hour distraction for anyone, has to be coherent and plausible, but J.J. Abrams’s piece of fan-boy glory doesn’t?
Now, a friend of mine pointed out to me that it’s all about the type of expectations a film is subjected to. According to him, Gatsby failed to meet up to the ridiculous expectations of greatness placed on it, while critics never expected much of Now You See Me to begin with. Into Darkness somehow fell into the critical sweet spot where the prior expectations already paint it in positive light , which will work in it’s favor as long as it isn’t completely awful.
And I could buy that argument completely . . .
But then this happened:
June 14, Man of Steel
Tomatometer: 56%
Metacritic: 55
Okay, Man of Steel. High expectations? Sure, but I wouldn’t think too high as the last Superman flick was an abysmal failure. And did it have it’s problems? Sure, but no more than Into Darkness. And yet this one is also being lambasted for reasons that I just don’t really think hold up. I would think that this film would be under the same kind of scrutiny as Into Darkness, and to be honest I felt this was a much better film than Into Darkness. So I’m not sure if I’m just losing my touch or if the critics are.
I mean, to recap, here’s how the critical aggregates rank these films:
1. Into Darkness
2. Man of Steel
3. The Great Gatsby
4. Now You See Me
Plus, the bottom three are all in the fifties in their out-of-100 scores, almost a full third less than Into Darkness . . . seriously?
And here’s how I (and many I’ve talked to) would rank these films:
1. The Great Gatsby
2. Man of Steel
3. (tie) Into Darkness and Now You See Me
I’m not sure what’s going on here, but critics, I just have one thing to say: don’t make me lose my faith in you.
– Blake
[Awkward Pause] 