I've been spending a frankly disturbing amount of time listening to Kermode's reviews at the BBC archives these last days.
What I love about him is that he really gets it; reviews are a guide for the consumer, yes, but they're also entertainment. Reviews don't matter for the big blockbusters, most people look at the trailer and decide to go to the opening night or not. From then on, it'll be word of mouth that makes it sink or swim.
Unless it's the Star Wars prequels, which everyone knew would suck after the hideous Episode One, and then went to see anyway.
(Including me. In my defense, it was only a lot of peer pressure that got me into theatre for the last one.)
Reviews matter more for the smaller films that can't saturate the public awareness beforehand with ridiculous promotional campaigns, but especially for stuff like PotC, they're mostly there for us to argue or agree with. Entertainment, in other words. Kermode, in addition to being knowledgeable and passionate about movies, is one funny bastard. He threatens to become obnoxious at times with his disproportionate hatred for "Orloondo Bland" and Julian Sands, but pulls it off thanks to it obviously being genuine (and frankly, it's hard to argue that Orlando Bloom isn't a charisma vacuum).
I just love the man. Especially when he's wrong.
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