Critic Reverses Himself On Apes (1 Viewer)

[Norm]

In a virtually unheard-of about-face, a major motion picture critic has written a new review of Planet of the Apes, criticizing his original review which acclaimed it. "What was I thinking?" Toronto Star critic Geoff Pevere writes in today's (Friday) edition, referring to his original four-star rating for the movie. While watching the film a second time with his teenage daughter, he says, he began experiencing regret. "Like [Mark] Wahlberg's space jockey, I started wishing that I, too could slip through a convenient time warp ... and knock my review down a star or so." Pevere goes on to write that his "revisionist viewing" had reminded him "of the rushed judgment this job entails. ... Opportunities to reflect and ruminate, processes which are elementary to good criticism, are rare as white buffalo." Finally, Pevere concludes, "I guess this is my way of saying sorry. I was wrong. Planet of the Apes isn't as good a movie as I first told you it was. ... And if this leaves you wondering how skeptical you should be of any reviews you read produced under the conditions I've outlined ... then at least some good has come of my momentary slip in judgment."
[url=http://us.imdb.com/StudioBrief/
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[Adam Lenhardt]

Hmmmm... now that he's appeased the studios for paying his way through an advance screening, he can say what he REALLY thought of the movie? I guess it's more honorable than some of the newspaper reviewers, who while real, might as well be David Manning. But then why am I bitching? I don't read newspaper reviews anyway, and anyone who does deserves to be disappointed by subpar movies... You know what they say "Trick me once, shame on you. Trick me every friday when new films open, shame on me."
P.S. I like to read Ebert's reviews... I may not agree with him on alot of films, but atleast he gives his honest opinion of films, as he's not in the aforementioned cycle.
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[Edwin-S]

Or did he just realize that a lot of other professional critics were giving lukewarm reviews and decided he didn't want to appear to be going against the grain....so he decided he would rather be a lemming.
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[GaryEA]

Retro-active movie reviews. Great.

-g

 

[Chad R]

Though, have none of us watched a movie a second time and had a new opinion on it? I know I have seen severalmovies, initially liked it, then saw it a second time and didn't think quite so highly of it. And conversely ended up liking movies I'd previously written off. That's why I make it a rule to try and see most things twice (second viewing reserved for DVD of course).
I agree that critics are sometimes forced by studio timelines to create a hasty opinion, and that if given the proper time and perspective they'd give a cmpletely different review. That's also why I don't listen to reviewers.