How to Write an Effective Movie Review

Writing an effective movie review is very different than writing a movie synopsis. In a synopsis, you are simply required to inform the reader of the basic facts of the movie: the plot, the characters, the climax and denouement, and any other pertinent detail. In a movie review, by contrast, the reader wants more from you. They want to know how the movie made you feel and whether you would recommend it to a friend.

If you are just getting started writing movie reviews, below are some helpful tips to ensure that the reviews that you write are informative, concise, and entertaining.

Summarize

When writing a movie review, of course you will need to summarize aspects of the movie. Things such as the central plot, the main characters (as well as which actors play in the movie), producer, director, running time, and year are all some of the critical pieces of the puzzle that you will provide your reader. Be careful, however, not to give away too much detail about the events of the movie, particularly the ending. Your readers want to know whether or not they should see the movie; they don't want so much detail that they feel they have already seen it.

Weigh In

The most important aspect of an effective movie review is your opinion. It doesn't matter if you hated or loved the movie, what is important is that you tell your readers exactly what you think. Don't be afraid to include your personal voice when writing this part of the review. Movie reviews are by nature subjective, and presenting your opinion in a personal way helps the reader to connect with your evaluation.

Recommendations

If you loved the movie, you will probably recommend that everyone see it. However, if the movie was just so-so, or if it was a narrow niche film, you will want to make specific recommendations about who would be a good audience for the movie. For example, you wouldn't recommend a chick flick to the general public, but rather to women in their 20's and 30's who enjoy shoes, shopping, and easy humor.

Length

In general, you will want your movie review to be just long enough to include important details and your opinions, but not so long that the reader becomes bored. Keep your writing tight, concise and to the point. Using an engaging conversational tone will help to hook your reader and make a longer review readable.

Ending

How do you end a movie review? Generally you will want to give the review some sort of rating, such as 8 stars out of 10. If you are writing for a specific audience, you may want to include specifics about where the movie can be seen, or whether it is available on DVD. In internet age, you could even indicate how the movie could be obtained through sites such as Netflix.

These are just some basic tips to help you write an effective movie review. Remember, write a succinct summary, weigh in with your personal opinion, make recommendations for the right audience, keep it a reasonable length, and give it a rating out of 10. If you follow these steps, you should have a movie review that will both inform and entertain your readers.