The Art of Reviewing
Over the course of my 19 years of existence, I have never been one to relish the genre of documentary films. Throughout my whole life I have not seen but a handful of these types of movies, and many of the ones I have seen have come off as not worth the two hours of my life they took to watch. One documentary, however, the American classic, “Super-Size Me,” starring and directed by Morgan Spurlock, goes against many of my typical feelings. I have seen this unique film a couple of times, and when I think of a documentary, this is the first, and sometimes only, film that comes to mind. After reading the NY Times review linked below, written by A.O. Scott in 2004 when the film premiered, I was interested and surprised with just how much a documentary review might have to offer in its own right. Rather than simply giving an overview of the film and offering the authors opinions, as I subconsciously expected going in, the review did a very good job of actually introducing readers to many of the arguments and positions the film takes on the fast food industry. Through a mix of subtle humor, intriguing tidbits of information, and insight on the subject in general, I feel like I would be able to get more out of the film now than I did the first time I watched it, possessing only minimal outside knowledge. To me, I think a good review should have a higher purpose than just trying to influence people whether or not to watch a film. Especially when it comes to the genre of documentary, reviews should educate readers regardless of if the reviewer supports the claims of the documentary. Any good review, in my opinion, should open doors to new ways of thinking that the general movie watcher might not think of. I have the Rotten Tomatoes rating to let me know if a film is worth watching or not; if I am going to read a whole article, I hope there is something more it can offer.
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