spoiler And The Scores Are In

[Denim&Venöm 16,453]

As of writing, the critical and audience receptions of the film are as follows: 

Tomatometer score: 57%

Audience score: 91%

 

Quite the gap between audience and critical scores.  

Edited October 7, 2017 by Denim&Venom

[Hazard Time 1,127]

Reading through the rotten professional reviews, the one thing that seems to be consistent among all of them is "Eww, ponies".  They mention a storyline that's hard to follow (which I call BS on) and unnecessary songs that serve no purpose but to pad out the running time (which is again BS because the story continues to progress for the duration of the song rather than "the story must stop because it's time to sing a little ditty that will have no effect on the plot!").

I took special umbrage with Katie Walsh's (Los Angeles Times) review when she called the Storm King a "corporate fascist overlord". 

Edited October 8, 2017 by Hazard Time

[Denim&Venöm 16,453]

5 minutes ago, Hazard Time said:

I took special umbrage with Katie Walsh's (Los Angeles Times) review when she called the Storm King a "corporate fascist overlord".

To be fair, I can kinda see where she's coming from with that. Storm King is pretty similar to Lord Business from The Lego movie, who fits that description to a T. 

[Hazard Time 1,127]

Just now, Denim&Venom said:

To be fair, I can kinda see where she's coming from with that. Storm King is pretty similar to Lord Business from The Lego movie, who fits that description to a T. 

Except where in the movie does it show him being corporate or fascist?  I know I'm being a stickler here, but ffs, it's like EVERY powerful villain is a corporate fascist overlord to these people...

[Sparklefan1234 161,597]

36 minutes ago, Denim&Venom said:

As of writing, the critical and audience receptions of the film are as follows: 

Tomatometer score: 57%

Audience score: 91%

 

Tomatometer is the critics, right? AKA the opinion's that shouldn't matter to us. 

[Adderbane 120]

8 minutes ago, Hazard Time said:

Except where in the movie does it show him being corporate or fascist?  I know I'm being a stickler here, but ffs, it's like EVERY powerful villain is a corporate fascist overlord to these people...

The scene with the pirates did make the Storm King seem kind of like some sort of evil corporation.  The merchandise and everything.

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

45 minutes ago, Hazard Time said:

I took special umbrage with Katie Walsh's (Los Angeles Times) review when she called the Storm King a "corporate fascist overlord". 

Of course. No Movie is complete these days, without atleast one critic trying to find a political undertone in it, no matter how insignificant or non existant it might be.

Not to mention in a family picture.

[Megas 27,048]

Nowadays the only score that should matter is the viewer score. If these last two years are anything to go by, Critics are becoming more irrelevant and untrustworthy

EDIT: Fug I meant untrustworthy

Edited October 7, 2017 by Kiryu-Chan

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

Just now, Kiryu-Chan said:

Nowadays the only score that should matter is the viewer score. If these last two years are anything to go by, Critics are becoming more irrelevant and trustworthy

I haven't trusted critics, ever since i heard alot of critics praise PotC: at worlds end, which is the worst pirates movie.

so called "professional critics" get paid by the big studios to say that their movie is good. Same goes for the oscars and all other awards shows. It's not always the best movies who win prices, else people like Stanley Kubrick and Quentin Tarantino would've had more of them.

[Denim&Venöm 16,453]

29 minutes ago, Hazard Time said:

Except where in the movie does it show him being corporate or fascist?  I know I'm being a stickler here, but ffs, it's like EVERY powerful villain is a corporate fascist overlord to these people...

Well considering he brags about image and public opinion like a marketing executive or image consultant, how he's not a fan of his frilly settings and wants them changed cause it doesn't fit his taste and that he has pirates turned privateers shipping his merchandise across the land, as well as how he complained about 'spell reception' during his conference call w/ Tempest, does paint him as a hot shot, sleazy, CEO type. 

And the fascist part? Definition of fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition. 

I'd say that last half is demonstrated pretty well in the movie. 

 

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,328]

Kind of expected that. Most "critics" on RT and Metacritc try to hard to be contrarian. Most of their complaints make me think they've never watched the show. "Unnececary songs" lol

[Steve Piranha 28,743]

It doesn't seems many of those have actually seen the movie. It's sad it's a fine example of how increasingly untrustworthy critics are these days. I thought it only happened in videogames  . Despite all that, it stills holds over 50% approval at least  

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,223]

The critic score for this film is total nonsense. As I posted in another thread, one of the rotten reviews, which was done by a 'Top Reviewer', said this movie might be worse than the Emoji movie and then gave absolutely no details on what he liked or did not like. His review was basically "MLP is stupid". The moment I read that, I could not take the negative reviews seriously. The movie isn't perfect, but it doesn't need to be.

[takai 1,060]

I think a movie should be able to stand alone on its own, even without prior knowledge of the series itself; which is the position most critics are in.

While this movie played it safe, I really don't understand the incredibly low scores.

[ShadowPhoenix 153]

1 hour ago, takai said:

While this movie played it safe, I really don't understand the incredibly low scores.

Yeah, this movie won't air where I live until November, which at least allows me to view the rest of Season 7 first.

 

I've heard the tremendous soundtrack whilst avoiding spoilers with a 10 foot pole. The Rotten Tomatoes score of 57% is nothing short of insulting, given the feedback from the audience, I do not even need to watch the film to know that it does not deserve to be deemed 'rotten'. I expected the score to break 70% at the very least. At least the audience rating of currently 90% proves that the critics have not aligned their expectations to the premise, style, let alone demographic of the movie and are letting the stigma that still hangs around this franchise dictate their reviews. IMDB's score of 7.2 is reasonable if a little on the low side and I'm not even going to consider Metacritic's 41 because Metacritic is absolutely brutal to all media.

 

Given that I'm someone who usually sets a lot by the Tomatometer, I'm disappointed with the 'professional' critics. Roger Ebert's review is murky and depressing, IGN's is nonsensical and that one guy who compared this to The Emoji Movie should be fired. This film deserves dignity at the least, and now more than ever, I am inspired to pay top dollar for the best available/premium seats if they are available when the time comes.

Edited October 8, 2017 by ShadowPhoenix

[Will Guide 21,325]

I think this section of the video 4:46-5;40) might answer the question as to why the critic are so harsh on the Movie:

The MLP Movie might have not be intended for critics. 

Of course, this is just an idea and might not be the actual answer.

Edited October 8, 2017 by WiiGuy2014

[Ganondox 899]

The gap is understandable: most people watching the film are fans, whereas most critics are not. Fans would definitely like this film more than non-fans, though I still think it has some appeal for them. That being said, this movie really should have a score at least in the mid 60s if not 70s as several of the negative reviews really should have been dismissed for being biased garbage. The one thing the one college film class taught is what a BAD review looks like (pop critics have a different purpose than academic ones, but they still should have standards), and the professional industry is full of them. I really don't understand how such people have jobs as critics. Also, there is a few critics who apparently decided to give rotten ratings despite the fact their actual reviews came across as fairly positive, guess it's just because they have too high standards. 

11 hours ago, Hazard Time said:

Reading through the rotten professional reviews, the one thing that seems to be consistent among all of them is "Eww, ponies".  They mention a storyline that's hard to follow (which I call BS on) and unnecessary songs that serve no purpose but to pad out the running time (which is again BS because the story continues to progress for the duration of the song rather than "the story must stop because it's time to sing a little ditty that will have no effect on the plot!").

I took special umbrage with Katie Walsh's (Los Angeles Times) review when she called the Storm King a "corporate fascist overlord". 

It's definitely a stretch to say the story-line is hard to follow, but to be fair non-fans would be more confused at the beginning, and there is some pacing problems. You're completely right on the song bit though, all of the Daniel Ingram songs had major plot advances. 

11 hours ago, Hazard Time said:

Except where in the movie does it show him being corporate or fascist?  I know I'm being a stickler here, but ffs, it's like EVERY powerful villain is a corporate fascist overlord to these people...

All over the place? One of the big themes about the Storm King is that he is a brand, this is both seen in his own dialogue ( eg. his dislike of cuteness isn't irrational, he's afraid it would effect his image, and he was literally saying he should trademark a phrase), and in references to him by other characters. For example, the Parrot ship was full of Storm King merchandise. I guess technically speaking that's commercialized, not corporate, but what she meant is clear. As for the fascist part,  eh, there isn't any real proof, but I assume she really meant tyrant. 

6 hours ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

I think this section of the video 4:46-5;40) might answer the question as to why the critic are so harsh on the Movie:

The MLP Movie might have not be intended for critics. 

Of course, this is just an idea and might not be the actual answer.

Great video, though I don't think the main issue was that this was a film not for critics as it actually does have some elements which appeal more to critics than to the typical person. One common theme I saw among positive and negative reviews was people praising the visual style, but condemning how it was underused, especially in the desert scene. I don't think it would cross most people's mind that we haven't had an animated film in forever and just how unique the visuals are, but at the same time, most people aren't going to pick up theater the movie could have done MORE with it. The humor though seems to be geared more towards the masses or specific niches than towards critics, so I can see an issue there. So while this is probably a factor, I think the main issue is that this film has a fan/non-fan divide more than a critic/non-critic divide. Anyway, I do know a film major and film professor who praised the heck out of this film. 

Edited October 8, 2017 by Ganondox

[Tiny Hoofs 200]

I expected the movie to get something within 60-70% like the original SpongeBob movie. I'm a little disappointed that it fell short of that. While the critics aren't all wrong, I think some went in with a bad mindset, almost as if they just expected to hate it. I saw a lot of critics overeager to describe it as an "extended episode" or "saccharine." Which just seems lazy way to describe its flaws, you know? The film should ideally been reviewed on its own merits while ignoring the fact that it's based on a children's toy franchise.

The IGN review alone speaks volumes about the mindset of some of these critics. And I hated all of the countless comparisons to The Emoji Movie. Which just seems silly given what a poorly written, cynical cash-grab The Emoji Movie is. Weirdly, I've seen mostly positive feedback from fans and audiences. Maybe it's one of those films were professional critics and audiences don't see eye to eye.

Edited October 8, 2017 by Tiny Hoofs

[Firedog 320]

Critics call everything Sh*t, that's how there reviews blow up.

The brony fandom was born from a review which completely tore Friendship is Magic pilot apart.

Then it turned out the show "critic" had only seen the trailer for the pilot, he didn't even watch the show.......

[DJ_Bonebraker 182]

On 10/7/2017 at 4:28 PM, Denim&Venom said:

As of writing, the critical and audience receptions of the film are as follows: 

Tomatometer score: 57%

Audience score: 91%

 

Quite the gap between audience and critical scores.  

This is yet another reason why I haven't listened to "professional" movie critics for years:  They're just as out of touch with what people like, or for that matter, what makes a good movie as the brain donors at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the people who determine which movies are nominated for/win Oscars)....

I just saw the movie myself, and I must say that it was fantastic:  It kept up a good pace & didn't really have any dull moments, yet somehow it felt longer than its actual 2 hour running time (in a good way).

[blackstarraven 142]

Something that I feel a lot of people miss.

Is that the Critical score is just that. Its a critical score.

Its basically a score on if the Movie is "TECHNICALLY" Good.
And for the most part I mostly agree with it.

 

Look I love bad kung fu movies. But I would never argue they are good... (Or even not bad)

 

Enjoyable and technically good are different....

 

Pinocchio is one of the (Most likely the) Most technically perfect animated movies ever. Because Walt looked it over frame by frame...

But I hate Pinocchio.. I mean actually hate... 

 

My enjoyment or lack of does not make something well written, well paced, well shot and so on.

 

And yes.. The movie has a lot of things that it did a... meh job on....
It has a lot of stuff it did well.

And it has some stuff it strait out screwed up on....

-

And this was always going to be a movie that was hard to watch if you where not a fan of the show.

 

As some one pointed out. "Ewww Ponies" Was a reaction that happens some times. And those Critics should be ignored... That being said.

The rating would still be on the high end of mid way.

 

I give it a 6-7 out of 10 as a movie... And I enjoyed the poop out of it....

[Tazool 43]

I thinks it's better to just take all the rating from the most credible movie reviewing websites (RT, Metacritic, IMDb, etc) compare them all, and average them all out.

But I really don't like how a lot of people see these sites as the arbiters of whether a movie is good or not, and just take the reviews at face value.

You have to remember that critics view a ton more movies than your average movie-goer, so they'll tend to pick up on more repeated aspects between movie to movie, adopt higher standards, and give movies ratings lower than what they really deserve.

Don't ever let a bad review sway you (w/reason, of course) from a movie that captures your interest.

Edited October 11, 2017 by Tazool
minor correction

[ShadowPhoenix 153]

1 hour ago, Tazool said:

I thinks it's better to just take all the rating from the most credible movie reviewing websites (RT, Metacritic, IMDb, etc) compare them all, and average them all out.

Rotten Tomatoes pegs the film at 55% with a rotten rating, Metacritic is too harsh in general and there is a disproportionate number of 1/10 ratings from iMDb, the latter scarily being the most credible out of the three. At least the audience reviews for RT is still 88% but from the response I've seen the film yield so far, I am disgusted that RT dished out a higher critical rating for Despicable Me 3 and Minions. The film hasn't aired in my country yet but I feel that the critics are setting too much stock by the stigma surrounding the MLP franchise and find it's presentation/narrative and comedy style/tone alien which is why so many them find it so off-putting. Their preconceptions are not enabling them to appreciate the film's merits on its own, with the worst offenders such as IGN, Slate and surprisingly Roger Ebert, reek with the juxtaposition against The Emoji Movie or that sinking feeling that they left the theater early.

I wish the box office was better too. $15 million currently...

[Ganondox 899]

On 10/9/2017 at 11:58 AM, Firedog said:

Critics call everything Sh*t, that's how there reviews blow up.

The brony fandom was born from a review which completely tore Friendship is Magic pilot apart.

Then it turned out the show "critic" had only seen the trailer for the pilot, he didn't even watch the show.......

That review didn't really tear the show apart, it barely even mentioned it as it was an article on animation trends on journal, FiM was just mentioned because it had Faust on board and was a toy commercial. I doubt he even watched the show at that point. 

[Toon4Thought 273]

Well, if what the NC said is true (and he does reasonably support his argument), that more or less means the film will become much more beloved by the masses as time goes on, which I hope will be the case here. You can't say nobody saw it or anything, considering a lot of showings were indeed selling out.

Edited October 12, 2017 by Toon4Thought