Are You a Film Critic, Or a Film Reviewer?

If you’ve ever searched the internet for information about a film, then the chances are you have been greeted by pages of search results from a huge variety of websites and blogs. Some of them are well established sites attached to major publications whilst others are the musings from someone who writes about films as a hobby. What I find interesting is that what all these people class themselves as, some refer to themselves as a film critic where as others say they area film reviewer, and yes I have my own film website and I class myself as a film reviewer which will explain why later on. But the question is “is there any difference between a film critic and film reviewer and does it really matter?”

What is a Film Critic

To my knowledge there is no hard and fast rule who can and can’t call themselves a film critic, there is no degree or course that all critics have to go through to be allowed to refer to themselves as a critic. Although there are a few characteristics which in my opinion set those who call themselves film critics apart from those who call themselves film reviewers.

First and fore mostly a film critic generally appears to be someone who not only has a love of movies, but also all the aspects of film making and so know the various roles that the crew provide on a film set, can spot the subtle variations in techniques used and generally can waffle on for ages on the subject of films without hesitating over their facts. It’s this in-depth knowledge on film making that allows them to write their critiques with an authority and can say that such and such an actor was originally a screen writer before getting their break in such and such a film.https://indowarta.com/film

Too their credit they are also someone who generally puts in a lot of work to keep up to date. A film critic will usually watch any film whether it’s in their comfort zone or not, good or bad, they will read the press releases, autobiographies and those heavy books on film making that can be so tedious. They will have watched those bygone films which are heralded as classics yet too many modern film lovers are ancient and over rated. They basically know their stuff and work hard to keep on top of things rather than your average person on the street who tends to watch those films they love and little else.

A film critic often has the ability to write flowing text, full of descriptive words as they attempt to explain what they liked and didn’t about a film. They appreciate the craft it takes to write something which is both interesting and informative whilst taking in those aspects of a film which many people may miss. Although it has to be said that there are some film critics who appear to be more content to inflate their ego with the ramblings about film making rather than crafting a critique which actually helps your average person on the street in their decision to watch a film or not.