Last month I was on IMDB checking out actor Michael Coppola, I started to have a look at a few of the movies he had been in and it dawned on me just how much I disagreed with those ratings. From here I began to search for some of my all time favorite movies, especially for those movies which didn’t get worldwide success at the time, but which I really loved.
Slowly but surely I realized that the ratings for some of my favorite movies were super low. Now I still use the site to check movie scores out, because I do think that it offers a good idea as to what is hot and what is not in the movie world. Since this experience however, I have decided to take the ratings which the site gives me with a pinch of salt, and here is why those ratings aren’t always right.
Number of Ratings
One of the most important things when you get ratings on IMDB is that there is a sufficient amount for you to get an accurate picture. For example if 10 people see a movie then achieving a score of 6 out of 10 is pretty easy, all you need is two of those people to hat it and that will bring the score right down. If however you have 10,000 reviews, or perhaps even 100,000 reviews, then you are going to find it much easier to get a fair score, because there are just so many opinions there.
Shared Views
One thing which I have certainly noticed on sites like this is that everyone wants to be a master reviewer, and it is often cool to talk smack about a movie because the ‘cinematography wasn’t sharp enough… or because the score was confusing’. Most people base a movie on how much they were entertained, and that’s all. This is why there are so many movies out there which are good fun and good entertainment, which have horrendous scores. Ultimately we are all different and there is something about a review site which brings out the worst in people.
Over The Top
Something which I have noticed in particular with superhero movies, of which there have been a gazillion recently, is that they have huge followings and people will not accept negative comments. I have seen some truly dreadful superhero movies in the last couple of years, yet they have high scores on sites like IMDB. The reason for this is that the fans come together and pump up the score, because in their view their favorite franchise can do no wrong, something which I for example disagree with.
These ratings can certainly be used to gauge how good a movie may or may not be, but given the lack of accuracy I don’t think it should be something which determines whether or not you should watch a movie. Watch the movie and make your own mind up.
