Do you let critic reviews influence your decision to see a movie?

[The Joker]

This is a point of discussion on the SS forum, and I'm wondering how many people here actually let critic reviews influence whether they see a movie or not.

So do you steer clear if the movie is getting bad reviews, or do you ignore the critics and go and judge it for yourself?

Btw please vote on the poll. I'd like to see what the consensus is here.

 

[LoganGambit87]

anyone who is really looking forward to a movie but wont go see it because it got bad reviews is a damn fool critics are not the holy grail they are just random people giving opinions and not everyone has the same mindset watching a movie.

now if your on the fence or unsure about the movie maybe due to decent trailers or piss poor marketing then i say listen to critics somewhat

 

[BlZARRO]

I haven't followed critics recommendations in a while. A few years back i was mixed on it. If it was a movie i really wanted to see, like a Batman movie, i would see it regardless. But if it was something that i wasn't so sure about, then i wouldn't spend my money on something with a 20% rate.

 

[Wildcard]

Not really. Even if I'm on the fence about a movie, I'd rather refer to family, friends or fellow Hypesters.

 

[Victarion]

Not really, since there's very few movies that manage to grab my attention. I've checked out a couple on the recommendations of friends, though - Hateful Eight, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Revenant - and ended up enjoying TH8 and TR. Most of what I've seen and enjoyed either came from the trailers alone, or in the case of Nolan's work post TDK and the Fast/Furious franchise, from my enjoyment of the director or the characters themselves.

I want to say Spidey 2 is the last time I looked at actual professional critic reviews before going to see a movie.

 

[The Joker]

anyone who is really looking forward to a movie but wont go see it because it got bad reviews is a damn fool critics are not the holy grail they are just random people giving opinions and not everyone has the same mindset watching a movie.

Exactly. Make up your own mind.

 

[def28]

Sure. To a degree and not usually the negatives but more the highly rated.

On fan heavy geek properties usually not. Likewise with R rated comedies. Cause I don't agree with critics there alot. But there have been times when I'm just sick of seeing bad movies and don't want to put up the money. Nothing worse then say a poorly made 3 hour drama. So I'll usually listen to the critics I tend to agree with along with wom then.

With a film like Suicide Squad if the sequel gets poor reviews and wom then it's not getting my money. So that will be going with my own perception of the first and critic reviews. Think I hated that film more then any comic film this decade outside of Fant4stic, and unless I hear many saying it's an improvement I'll wait.

On the other side of things, many times through the year there will be films that get fantastic reviews that were not on my radar. The good reviews are what got my attention and makes me seek it out. I know with my friends and family who are not all geeks, good reviews can persuade them with comic films and other genre pics. So yeah good reviews influence my decision quite a bit, as it does most the people around me. Just not for every single movie out there, and usually for the ones that are rated exceptionally high. Cause especially with smaller films they usually bank on the reviews to get their audience since they can't afford marketing or even wide releases.

 

[Fincher]

If I want to see something badly enough, I see it. If I don't want to see something badly enough, I don't see it. In between, I consider my own level of interest, critical reception, word of mouth, awards...it's a formula that's worked well for me.

Well, there is one exception to that: I always put the Oscars Best Picture winner on my list. I'm behind on my movie viewing, though, so I haven't gotten to Birdman or Spotlight.

 

[Thundarr]

This is a point of discussion on the SS forum, and I'm wondering how many people here actually let critic reviews influence whether they see a movie or not.

So do you steer clear if the movie is getting bad reviews, or do you ignore the critics and go and judge it for yourself?

Btw please vote on the poll. I'd like to see what the consensus is here.

This is an interesting topic. Honestly, you should include a third option to your poll, "Depends On The Movie". Because that is where I, and probably a lot of other people on this board, actually lie.

For example, when the original Ninja Turtles movie came out, the critics hated it (Siskel & Ebert at least). But as a big Turtles fan at the time, I went to see it anyway, and I LOVED it. Ebert & Roeper gave Scooby Doo a similarly bad review years later. As a fan of Scooby Doo I went to see it anyway, and while not a perfect movie by any means, I enjoyed it quite a bit (I certainly don't think it deserves the hate that it gets).

On the other hand, there are other movies that the critics LOVE that I have no interest in seeing. It's been years since Titanic hit the big screen, and I have still yet to see it because it doesn't really appeal to me.

And then there are movies that I don't really know if I'd want to see it or not, but will give it a chance because of the great reviews. Hotel Transylvania for example. I thought it looked kinda dumb from the trailers, but heard so many good reviews about it that I decided to take a chance. I now have it on DVD and include it in my Halloween watch list.

Movie reviews are essentially just the personal opinion of the reviewer. And their personal opinion is often skewed by their own personal taste rather than the actual quality of the film. A person who hates sword and sorcery movies is going to hate The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy regardless of how well made it is. I happen to love sword and sorcery movies, and as such will tend to ignore any negative reviews by reviewers that have expressed a personal bias against them. On the other hand, artsy Oscar bait films aren't my cup of tea, but some reviewers eat them up like they're going out of style. So again, I don't listen to them when they tell me that this movie is a "must see".

 

[Thundercrack85]

Yes, but only if it's overwhelmingly panned. Like, I did not see Green Lantern, or any of the Fantastic Four movies in the theater. I am not going to pay good money to see a terrible movie.

Like I mean, a movie that is just utter garbage.

Man of Steel was a mess, but it had some good parts to it.

Same for Batman vs Superman. It was a train wreck, but kind of spectacular. Like watching a fertilizer plant explode. And I enjoyed the good Batman movie that was trapped in there.

 

[AnneFan]

No. And if I'm a big fan of a franchise - Batman, Bond, Star Wars, etc, I'm seeing the movie no matter what. I'll make up my own mind.

 

[Johnny-Oh]

Not when its movies I'm interested/excited about. But for someone like me who watches A LOT of movies, critics are extremely useful! I've discovered a lot of great movies based on recomendations and RT scores which have also helped me avoid awful movies.

 

[Thundercrack85]

No. And if I'm a big fan of a franchise - Batman, Bond, Star Wars, etc, I'm seeing the movie no matter what. I'll make up my own mind.

Star Wars, yes. But the Brosnan movies after Goldeneye actually made me sit out a couple of Bond movies. I still want my 7.25 back from Quantum of Solace.

 

[Greens]

I can't vote because it depends. Certain movies I will go see no matter what, and others I'll avoid if they're getting "meh" to terrible reviews.

 

[Kyle]

When you push it to an extreme. No. If the movie already doesn't look interesting to me, all critics will do is reaffirm me. If something looks like it might be good, but on the severe fence of it might influence me to give it another look. Case in point 'Spy' looked just okay... But, the reviews being so high convinced me to go; but that's the only time I can think of. Critics couldn't even get me into Finding Dory.

 

[Abudefduf]

For the most part, yes. I know people say that if you're interested in a movie you should go check it out no matter what, but the thing is, an intriguing premise and/or good looking trailers are no guarantee of a good final product.

For example, the trailers for Suicide Squad made the film look amazing, but now that the movie is out the general consensus is that it's a mangled nonsensical mess that's been destroyed by studio interference. Why would something of the sort deserve my support.

I'm glad that so many people are apparently immortal and have the physical time to watch every single movie in existence so that they can "make up their own minds" about it, but I don't. My time on this sad little planet is fairly limited, I have to make choices and sometimes that means seeking out some external help. And that's what critics (and fans) reviews are for.

 

[NotNickFury]

Not really. All I care about is whether the film interests me and that's it. Even a movie like Jimi: All is By My Side, with Andre 3000 playing Jimi Hendrix, I thought would be pretty good. And yet, it's pretty mediocre. But that's a result of seeing it for myself and not waiting to see what critics or word of mouth says.

 

[MadVillainy]

I guess short answer yes. Bit if I really want to see a movie I check it out anyway, especially during the summer.
If I listened to critics this summer 1/2 of my most anticipated movies I wouldnt have checked out in theaters.

Even the other way, I had no interest in seeing Finding Dory. That came out and got great reviews...still didn't see it in theaters.

The primary time is when I'm on the fence or it's a new property. For instance, I think that new Ben Affleck movie called "The Accountant" looks really good. However, if it gets bad reviews I'm not gonna check it out in theaters. But say Ben Affleck was doing Batman, or even Star Wars, Marvel, Bond, a Tarintino film or any "brand" that I really like I'll check it out regardless/

I dont even think the GA really listens to critics. I know this thread idea was birthed from the Suicide Squad thread (another movie that I went to see despite critic reviews) but if you look at something like Suicide Squad. it actually made a ton of money opening weekend proving that people don't really care about critics. It's when the word of mouth of friends, family, etc. spread that it started to drop. It's still making it's money though.

I know people hate critics or whatever. But if I didn't listen to critics some of the time I'd just be pissed off. I was going to see Dirty Grandpa in theaters...ended up being the worst movie I saw this year and probably one of my least favorite comedies ever.

 

[CaptainWagner]

IF it's a movie that I WANT to see, then no. But if I'm trying to decide what movie to see, then they would come into play.

 

[The Joker]

I dont even think the GA really listens to critics. I know this thread idea was birthed from the Suicide Squad thread (another movie that I went to see despite critic reviews) but if you look at something like Suicide Squad. it actually made a ton of money opening weekend proving that people don't really care about critics. It's when the word of mouth of friends, family, etc. spread that it started to drop. It's still making it's money though.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Abudefduf]

Wait so this poll was made to prove that the general audience doesn't care about critic reviews? Well, isn't that kind of a given, considering the continuous and ridiculous success of the Transformers movies? Ffs they're even making a fifth Pirates movies. It boggles my mind that people are still following that series.

I realize this is just my limited anecdotal experience but none of my friends or relatives gives a **** about critics reviews. If the premise is interesting to them, they'll go check the movie out. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I'm literally the only person I know that uses Rotten Tomatoes.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I would hafta say no. If I'm interested in the movie to begin with and if I'm sold by the trailers then I definitely see the movie in theaters regardless of the reviews. I don't care if a movie has good or bad or indifferent reviews, it doesn't matter to me.

 

[Greens]

I was going to see Dirty Grandpa in theaters...ended up being the worst movie I saw this year and probably one of my least favorite comedies ever.

Hated the first 15 minutes of the movie, powered through... and ended up liking it. Anything can happen!

 

[Web-Head]

IF it's a movie that I WANT to see, then no. But if I'm trying to decide what movie to see, then they would come into play.

This is what I was going to say. If I think the movie looks pretty good from trailers and I say "That looks interesting, I might see that" but then it gets mixed to poor reviews I usually won't see it...but it also depends if there is something else coming out soon that I know I'm going to see. If there is, I'll save my money for that.

Although, I still did end up seeing the Legend of Tarzan and that had poor reviews.

 

[Erzengel]

I kind of gave up on the X-Men series after The Last Stand. Add to the fact that it was pretty much the Wolverine movies, I was going to skip First Class but wound up going to see it because it had stellar reviews. So you would think I would say yes.

But looking at all the movies I saw this year, BvS, SS, X-Men: Apocalypse, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I can pretty much say I don't let critics interfere with what I watch.