I was never into movies in a big way until I made one on my own. Suddenly a new world of opportunities opened up and the experience of watching a movie has never been the same again. Initially I started off watching downloaded movies borrowed from my friends so critics or their opinion never really mattered to me. But eventually their opinion became indispensible when it came to decided weather the movie is worth the time and money, esp. the new ones since going to multiplex has become so expensive.
In this day and age, we are surrounded by all sorts of information. A status update or blog of friend has become as influential as the review of an esteemed critic. Thus, it is important, now more than ever, to learn to make a decision using the available info as well as your own thoughts and intuition.
Some people though, base their decision solely on a critic’s review. I have often done this mistake in the past, “No Smoking” (NS) for example. Although It was highly unlikely for me to go watch it in theatres when it released irrespective of the review, the bad reviews did stop me from downloading the movie for a long time. Fortunately I did download it one day and ended up liking it a lot. This works the other way too sometimes. “Paa” got some really rave reviews but I stepped out of the theatre disappointed. Offcourse u might say a movie like NS is hardly the kind of movie a majority of people would enjoy watching (and I agree) so it would be wrong to say the critics have erred in their judgement. But then you are missing the whole point of giving this particular example.
NS is not the kind of movie a majority of people would enjoy watching, but that does not mean that no one should watch it. You don’t always have to agree with the majority. I do not say that critics should have given the movie a better rating, but people reading the review should not base their decision solely on a review or two. A critic is ultimately giving his opinion of the movie and diff critics have diff opinions. It should influence your decision but not dictate it. Dev D is wonderful example see the difference of opinion among critics themselves.
There are diff ways to use a critic’s opinion while making a decision. I find NDTV reviews rather reliable. Another critic I often like to read is Taran adarsh. I never agree with his ratings or the review but what’s interesting is that he has a certain consistency which is very reliable. Meaning, If u really like a movie that Taran adarsh hated, chances are that u’ll like almost all the movies that he hates and vice-versa. Thus, Taran has saved me from many modern-day travesties like “Dil bole hadippa” . Over the years however, I seem to have developed an eye for trailers. As misleading as some of them are they tend to give, at least to me, a rather accurate indication of how the film will be. I suggest the readers to give it a try.
