Open Forum Friday: Should Movie Reviews Avoid Spoilers?
So here’s a debate that started on last week’s episode of the Film Junk Podcast that I thought was important enough to bring up for Open Forum Friday. The issue at hand is whether or not movie reviews should contain spoilers, and although it was specifically directed toward our reviews on the podcast, I am interested in people’s thoughts on all movie reviews in general. The way I see it, there are two reasons why people read movie reviews:
- In order to choose a movie they want to see. The important thing here is to find out whether or not a movie is worth spending time and money on, but without giving away important plot twists or detailed story descriptions.
- In order to see how others feel about a movie you have already seen and to give you a better understanding/appreciation of it.
What this comes down to is the difference between film reviewers and film critics. Although the two often get mixed up, the former is more concerned with helping consumers make an informed purchase, while the latter is concerned with analyzing a movie and its strengths and weaknesses. I know that I personally read reviews more for the latter than the former, but part of that is because I don’t want to have my own opinions influenced strongly before I see a film. Sometimes if I am on the fence about seeing a movie, however, I will scan reviews from a few trusted sources.
Here on Film Junk, we try to walk a line between the two styles, which is not always easy. We want to give you a heads up on movies that you might not have seen yet, but we don’t want to talk in riddles. Our reviews on the podcast are obviously a lot more loose, and sometimes we accidentally give away bits and pieces of the story and reference specific scenes. I know a lot of people won’t listen to the podcast if they haven’t yet seen the movie, and I think that is understandable. We do try to leave the review towards the end of the show though, so that you can listen to the rest.
So let’s get a general consensus from people here. Why do you read reviews and do you want them spoiler-free? What do you consider to be a spoiler? Are you happy with the nature of our reviews on Film Junk? Answer the poll below, and give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.
Comments (19)
It’s a tricky balance to be sure. I generally avoid reviews before seeing a film, because a) Some do tend to spoil the film and b) I already know what I want to watch
Perhaps spoiler-filled critiques should be written a week after the film’s release? Just a thought.
Lately I’ve been considering boiling my reviews down to the bare essentials: 1 paragraph saying whether or not to watch the film and a little bit about why, and saving the critique for a later date.
Posted by Cinexcellence on June 27th, 2008A spoiler is called a “spoiler” for a reason. It gives away large plot points that, if unknown, would have enhanced the experience of watching the movie. I think it should be explicitaly stated whether a writen piece is a review or a critique. That way people know what they are reading before they spoil their movie. It happened to me several times. Or the spoilers could be writen with the same color as the backgroung so that they can only be read if the text is highlighted. Most times I read reviews because movie trailers are misleading, and I have to know whether or not I should spend $8.50. And occasionally I read critiques to see what other people thought.
Posted by Matt on June 27th, 2008I generally enjoy Filmjunk’s reviews because you tread the line very well. However, I would love your reviews if you wrote reviews and critiques seperately. I realize this would mean more work. But maybe you could start something here. It could catch on.
If I read a review of a film before I see it then it is a film that I am not really, really excited about. For the films that I am excited about I will wait to read reviews after I’ve seen the film, just in case there are spoilers in the review.
As for reviews on the Filmjunk podcast I don’t mind spoilers because I want to hear a proper discussion of the movie not a simple review where you give it a score. If I want to avoid spoilers I’ll just skip that part of the review.
Posted by Stephen on June 27th, 2008I’ve been listening to your show for somewhere in the vicinity of two or three years now, and I’ve never had a problem with your reviews. If I don’t want to hear spoilers, I skip over the segment, which I can easily do thanks to the hour/minute markers you place in the show notes. If I don’t care about a movie or it’s spoilers, I just listen right on through the show. I say that it’s up to the reviewer/critic to warn of the possibility of spoilers, and it’s the responsibility of the reader to decide whether to proceed with reading/listening to the review. As far as Film Junk is concerned, I say keep doing what you’re doing. Talk about any facet of the movie you want as long as you state beforehand that you’ll be including spoilers.
Posted by Rian on June 27th, 2008I think it’s ok for reviews to have spoilers, has long as there are warnings in advance.
Posted by Robert(wolf) on June 27th, 2008I agree with Robert(wolf). Besides, I usually know from a trailer whether or not I wanna see a movie.
You guys do fine entertaining reviews. The only thing I see that needs improvement is the rating scale. Why four stars instead of five? The third star means “ok” or “pretty good”. Sure, two and a half stars could mean the same thing but that just doesn’t seem adequate. With five stars you are giving a movie a number out of ten. Four stars is incorrect.
Posted by Ryan on June 27th, 2008The spoiler-filled discussion of interesting things you noticed during a film is far better than being safe and being vague. These are two extremes, but pretty much I agree with what Jay said on last week’s podcast.
If I cared about spoilers then I’ll go see it before reading anything. If a movie is “spoiled” by knowing what happens… it’s probably not very good to begin with.
Lastly, there ought to be an unspoken rule on the internet: major spoilers (detailed endings) should be avoided for 3 months… then everything is open game with no warnings needed.
Posted by joe on June 27th, 2008ps. I agree with Ryan. I think we’ve come to a point where “out of 5″ is universal. iTunes(?), windows media, netflix, etc. And with 5 stars, there shouldn’t be halves or zeros. Just my opinon =)
Posted by joe on June 27th, 2008Reviews can be done without revealing too much of the movie. Then again, just watching movie trailers sometimes reveal the whole context of the movie anyway.
Posted by Baychuk on June 28th, 2008I think we chose four stars because it is the rating system that Ebert uses, and it is sort of the defacto standard when it comes to movie reviews. It was also simpler than having something like “out of 10 with multiple decimal places” or something like they have on IGN and a lot of the game review sites. 5 stars with no halves allowed could work I suppose, but I don’t know if we’d bother changing over now.
Posted by Sean on June 28th, 2008The problem with reading spoiler free reviews (which I have no interest in and would avoid regardless) is that you’re completely at the mercy of writer and his definition of spoiler. At best you’re walking through a mine field.
And all those critics are blabber mouth idiots who can’t keep a secret. It’s always “I’m not going to spoil it but hint hint hint. and in case that was too subtle hint hint” and then the movie is spoiled.
The problem is that it’s not a thin line, it’s a blatant contradiction. They’re trying to talk about the movie without talking about the movie.
Posted by Rusty James on June 28th, 2008I personally dont find that spoilers ruin a movie for me. I go to a movie to see the visuals for myself. Knowing what some of the plot points are isn’t going to take away from the visual stimulation you are going to get from watching the film. It’s the same reason you can watch a movie multiple times and still be entertained.
Posted by Connor G on June 29th, 2008Example:
Would saying there is a twist in The 6th Sense be a spoiler?
Posted by Henrik on June 29th, 2008@Joe (#8) I think half stars work well in the “out of 5″ rating. Not only is it more precise, but you can easily convert to “out of 10″ by doubling it.
Posted by Cinexcellence on June 29th, 2008If I don’t want to be spoiled, I don’t read reviews. Period. People need to take responsibility for what they read. This doesn’t negate the need for people writing reviews/critiques to specify whether or not there are spoilers in their review/critique, of course.
Posted by Liz on June 29th, 2008I avoid spoilers for films I know I want to see, and it can be a challenge when reading reviews or even watching trailers.
When I write reviews, I keep them spoiler free as well with the intent of providing enough information to the reader to be able to decided if it’s a film they would be interested.
I usually listen to the podcast after I’ve seen the film.
Posted by Shannon the Movie Moxie on June 29th, 2008I think it really depends on the movie. I don’t care about spoilers for something like “The Incredible Hulk”. But for something that ma potentially have a controversial or surprising ending, I’ll wait to see it.
Posted by Jon Rocks on June 29th, 2008I really like listening to the reviews after seeing the film, so like the spolier versions, but living in Australia means we often don’t get movies at the same time as over there, so it’s hard sometimes. For example, Wanted doesn’t open here until July 31 and Wall-E isn’t until September, and obviously i’m not waiting until then to listen to the show! Basically, give spoilers but give plenty of warning so I and others can skip for a few minutes
Posted by Ben S on July 1st, 2008Leave a Reply