When it works, the entertainment business can boast some of the most impressive profit margins that exist in today’s economy. That is not to say however, that movies are not a risky investment. Just ask the studio executives at Walt Disney, who were forced to report losses upwards of $80 million in a single quarter due to the now infamous box office flop John Carter, which cost over $200 million to make.
A good part of the reason why this film lost so much money was the poor critical response it received prior to its release. Despite Disney’s multi-million dollar marketing campaign, the film could not garner box office success.
The case of John Carter and its substantial financial loss bring to light the importance of the film critic to the movie industry. More than anything, it is the structure of the industry that lends film critics their significance. There are studios who initially invest in the movie product, production teams that create it, and marketers who promote a film’s release. Finally, there are the bystanders who stand to gain by predicting the success or failure of ventures within this particular market. The film critic falls into this broad category, and that is a problem.
Before going any further, let me be clear that I do not equate critics with financial shareholders. Critics do not stand to make massive profits at the loss or success of any given movie or book. What remains, however, is the fact that critics do consider what makes their own product profitable. There is no question that critiques are informed opinions that we may enjoy reading, while simultaneously reveling in agreement or disagreement with the particular judgment the piece provides. Nevertheless, they are informed opinions with a purpose: to tell you whether a certain piece of entertainment is worth your time and money. In this sense, the critic must shape their review around not only their subjective opinion, but also how they believe audiences at large will receive the film. One should hardly expect a reviewer to attain any readership and subsequent success if they are always panning every film against the attitudes of most moviegoers. Hence, the successful film critic is able to predict what they believe most people will think of a given film.
The confidence or predictive power that a film critic must have in the movie marketplace is troublesome. For one thing, it encourages a double standard that critics increasingly maintain. Take, for example, the type of movie that predominated at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. A universal characteristic of all of these films is that they are artistically inclined and more earnest than your average blockbuster. Accordingly, the audiences for these films are usually more culturally sophisticated. As a result of all this, the reviews we see for these films are almost laughably “highbrow,” dotted with various mystical cinematic terms. Yet the exact same critics will hold non-artistic but potential blockbuster films to such low standards as to call them a “whirlwind of fun” or a “joy ride.”
Now this double standard is, in one sense, perfectly warranted. If you want to see an intelligent, artistic film, then you will read an equally learned review. In contrast, if you just want to see a movie purely for the entertainment factor, then a simple review is probably preferred. But being able to find a professional review that actually caters to your outlook is becoming increasingly difficult. Suddenly, everyone can share and publicize their opinion and/or review on a piece of entertainment. In many cases, these reviewers are perceived to be more personable and credible. To cement their market value, refined, experienced, and — most of all — professional reviewers must take steps to ensure a clear distinction between their reviews and the fare found on the Internet. It stands to reason that professional criticism has become even more valued and influential, as public commentary has grown through social media to become the equivalent of “phone a friend.”
As an upshot, the uniformly high standard of film critics does not bode well for films that look to purely entertain. Maybe many of the movies that we are passing up today are worth seeing. It just depends on how much value we place on the critic’s opinion.
Breen Wilkinson is a second-year student studying English, history and American studies.
