Being a film critic, it’s very easy for me to buy my ticket, allow myself to dive in to a film for a few hours, come out at the end and deliver my two cents on what I thought of it; and then I go on with my life. It’s simple, painless and I get to voice my opinion. One thing that can get overlooked in doing that is the lack of respect shown to the filmmaker for the amount of effort he or she has put in to the film. Watching a film takes a few hours. Making a film can take years. As a critic it’s easy to forget that a film can take up a good portion of a filmmaker’s life bringing it to the screen; upon reflection, it appears that my two cents can’t really account for the journey the filmmaker has gone through to realise their vision, no matter how flawed or perfect it may be. This is the inherent inconsistency between the value of the film to its maker and the value of the film to its viewer; and it seems to me that although one cannot discount the way an audience will respond to a film, it’s quite apparent that an opinion formed in a few hours cannot make up for the experience the filmmaker went through over the course of several years to make the film.

I was listening to an audio commentary from “The Mummy Returns” when at one point director Stephen Sommers made fun of famous American film critic Roger Ebert who apparently wasn’t impressed with some of the more ridiculous elements of the film such as when Rick outruns the sunrise to reach the temple in time to save his son’s life. Sommers laughed when he repeated that quote and said, ‘maybe Roger thought we were making a documentary? Watch it again Roger.” It’s a great jibe at a critic and a good example of how over-analysing a piece the way Ebert did in that case is ludicrous to the point of reaching for something to say. On the other hand, Ebert has also been known to make some great points, such as how “Star Trek Nemesis” was a copy of a copy of a copy, or how “Star Wars Episode II” had some of the most banal dialogue in movie history. Ultimately it’s just his opinion and his opinion is not really any different to any one who walks in to the cinema on a Friday night looking to be entertained; there’s just a perception that his opinion carries more weight because it’s printed. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s just there to give you a view point of what he saw to help inform your choices of what you will see at the cinema. And by the way, the irony hasn’t escaped me that I just gave my opinion on Ebert who was giving his opinion on Sommers’ direction etc!

I should point out that there are differing levels of culpability when it comes to filmmaking and its relation to the criticism that it receives. By that I mean if you’re an independent filmmaker who struggled to get the financing but managed to get it, assembled the best team you possibly could and put as much production value in to the piece as your budget can afford, and still managed to get it sold, then you can’t really be criticised too harshly for putting in your best effort. After all, without all the resources available to the filmmaker then people such as myself, the critic, cannot reasonably expect more than that. However, filmmakers that have bigger budgets, and I would say here twenty million dollars or more, who have the backing of a studio or a major player from the industry who has the ability to pull the strings to get you seen through the major distribution channels such as cinema and television, really have no excuse for shoddy work. You’ve got the time, you’ve got the resources, you’ve got the industry backing. If you’re serious and talented, there’s no reason why your film should not be good. And that’s where critics have their place; to offer an opinion to the viewing public about whether or not a well-backed film lives up to standard. After all, as a member of the public, you’re paying a lot of money for your cinema ticket, especially these days of inflated prices.

I love watching films. Picking out a new film every week to watch is a fun thing to do, as is talking and writing about them. Ultimately my two cents is just my two cents. You can agree with me or not agree with me; and my two cents will invariably be different to everyone else’s. Bare in mind though when you watch your next film that regardless of its quality that it represents a lot of hard work over a long period of time by a lot of people. Sometimes filmmakers get it right, sometimes they get it wrong, and absolutely none of them set out to make a bad film if that is what they end up making. What’s paramount is that no amount of criticism can tarnish that filmmaking experience for those that are brave enough to step up to the plate and make a film.