Movie-Retrospect Film Ratings Explained

It’s a shame that review scores are so important to people. I much prefer to write or read a review that explains why a film is good or bad, but some people just want to skip to the end and see what the score is.

There’s a few other things I hate about review scores: –

I hate it when people give out 10’s like they are going out of fashion. To me, a score of 10 is absolute perfection. This is a score that cannot be improved on, it is VERY rare that I will ever give a film a Perfect 10. I’ve probably only ever given out a handful of 10’s in my life. So if a film gets a 9 or even an 8 from me, that is as good as a 10 to the average person.

I hate it when people think that 6 or even 7 is a bad score. They are not. Since it is so rare to get a perfect 10, a score of 7 is still a highly recommended score and one to be proud of. Likewise, a score of 6 is still very good in my book, so a film with a rating of 6 should not be ignored – read the review and make your own mind up from that.

Here’s a break down of my scoring system: –

  1. Absolute Waste of Time – I’d rather be sat in the dentist’s chair having my teeth pulled. Films with scores this low should never have been made.
  2. Don’t Bother.
  3. So Bad It’s Good – Anything of 3 or below has the potential to be so bad it’s good and might actually be worth watching with your friends and a few beers just for a laugh. You should read the text of the review first to see if the film meets this criteria.
  4. Below Average – But depending on the content of the film it may still be worth a watch if it sounds interesting to you.
  5. Average – If you can’t find the remote then it may be acceptable for most people to sit through, as long as you didn’t have anything better to watch or do.
  6. Recommended – A score of 6 is good – This is a perfectly fine way to kill some time, but may not appeal to everyone so I recommend you read the text of the review to determine for yourself if you think it sounds like you would like it or not.
  7. Highly Recommended – 7 is a very good score. Most people should be very satisfied with a 7, but check the review if the film is from a genre that you don’t normally enjoy.
  8. VERY Highly Recommended – Generally anything of 8 or above should be seen by everyone.
  9. Absolutely Brilliant – I simply can’t recommend it highly enough. Scores of 9’s are very rare.
  10. Absolute Perfection – Probably only 1 film every decade will get a perfect 10.