Film Critics vs. Audiences: Why Their Ratings Don't Match

A clash of perspectives: why critics and audiences see films differently.

Film criticism isn't just a subjective impression of a movie. It's a professional practice grounded in in-depth knowledge of cinematic language, genre conventions, and theoretical approaches to analysing visual art.

The DeTalks team looked into why film critics' conclusions so often clash with popular taste.

How Film Critics Work

Film critics analyze a film not just as entertainment, but as a work of art. What gets evaluated includes dramaturgy, editing, sound, directorial choices, acting, and cinematography — everything that makes up cinematic language. This analytical approach often requires professional training or long-term immersion in the context of film.

For instance, to enroll in the 'film studies' program at the Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television, applicants must pass an interview testing their knowledge of major trends in contemporary filmmaking, genre and style characteristics, historical stages in the development of film art, and important creative figures in world and Ukrainian cinema. Applicants are also tested with an extended annotation of a short narrative film.

This kind of selection process reflects just how deep an understanding of various aspects of film is needed to evaluate movies professionally. ​

For a critic, a film is above all a text subject to deconstruction, interpretation, and placement within a broader cultural discourse, notes researcher Mariia Sydorenko.

Viewers Seek Emotion, Critics Seek Form and Substance

​Critics use specialized analytical tools. Semiotic analysis, for instance, examines the signs and symbols in a film, their meanings, and how they shape audience perception. Syntagmatic analysis focuses on the sequence of events in a film, while paradigmatic analysis — studies hidden contrasts.

There's also rhetorical analysis, which assesses the ways a film persuades or influences a viewer. Technical analysis assesses the technical aspects of a film, including direction, cinematography, editing, sound, and visual effects. Finally, dramaturgical analysis examines plot structure, character development, and dialogue.

These tools make it possible to break a film down into its components and evaluate each element separately.

Viewers, by contrast, are guided by emotion and personal taste, experiencing a film as a whole, without a detailed breakdown of its parts. This fundamental difference between critics and audiences isn't a bad thing — it simply reflects different approaches to evaluating film as an art form.

Research published in the Journal of Quantitative Methods and Technologies, for instance, shows that high box office returns and heavy marketing boost a film's popularity with audiences, but don't necessarily improve its quality by critical standards.

Critics: Not Judges, but Cultural Curators

In today's film landscape, the role of film critics is shifting from traditional judgment toward cultural curation. They don't just evaluate new releases — they also shape the context in which those films are received, fostering a deeper understanding of the art of film.​

Klaus Eder, secretary general of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), for instance, stresses the importance of preserving film history. He notes that film critics shouldn't just write reviews of new releases, but should also pay attention to cinematic heritage, keeping it relevant for contemporary audiences.

Ukrainian film critic Serhii Bondarenko, meanwhile, believes curation is the next stage in a critic's evolution. Serhii argues that through curatorial work, critics create context for watching films by organizing screenings and discussions. This goes beyond the traditional review and fosters a deeper engagement with film.

Ukrainian film critic Daria Badior also stresses the importance of film criticism as a component of a country's intellectual life. Daria emphasizes the need to protect the profession of criticism and establish clear boundaries between criticism and PR, in order to ensure the objectivity and independence of critical evaluations.

Who Has the 'Right' Opinion — the Viewer or the Critic?

Critics and viewers alike are entitled to their own perspective. It's important to understand that criticism doesn't cancel out emotional response — it simply adds professional analysis to it. If anything, a constructive dialogue between critical thinking and a viewer's personal experience enriches the film world and broadens our understanding of it.