Critics and Audiences: The Chasm Between Them Part I

CRITICS

AND

AUDIENCES

The relationship between critics and audiences is an important one, but it can often be one that curates conflict. Critics can hate what audiences positively respond to, whilst in other instances, audiences can despise and show disinterest in what critics are adoring.

Critics from various companies, publications, websites etc are invited to screenings of films days, weeks, and sometimes months in advance of when the general movie going audience get to see it. Once the studio responsible for distribution lifts the film's embargo, critics are allowed to freely compose their opinion in a review, acting as a guide for the commercial audience as to whether a film is worth their time and hard earned money.

However, sometimes this supposedly harmonious exchange doesn't always coalesce. A recent example of this comes in the form of Bright, a 2017 Netflix film directed by David Ayer and starring Will Smith and Joel Edgerton which was blasted by critics. A particularly scathing review came from IndieWire critic David Ehrlich, "There's boring, there's bad and then there's "Bright"...From the director of "Suicide Squad" and the writer of "Victor Frankenstein" comes a fresh slice of hell that somehow represents new lows for them both - a dull and painfully derivative ordeal that often feels like it was just made to put those earlier misfires into perspective." Ehrlich also dubbed it the "Worst Film of 2017" and other critics seemed to echo his strong feelings and the film currently has a score of 26% on the Tomatometer and has thus been certified as "Rotten" by the website:

Rotten Tomatoes

The overwhelmingly negative response to Bright on behalf of critics, however, seemingly did nothing to deter audiences from watching it on Netflix where it became one of the streaming service's biggest original properties thus far. According to Nielsen ratings and estimates, Bright pulled in a hugely impressive audience of 11 million in its first three days of release (Variety). Meanwhile, a glance at the reviews that the film garnered from members of the streaming service painted a different picture entirely in comparison to critics' perception:

A selection of Netflix reviews by the streaming service's members.

This selection of highly positive reviews seems to suggest that audiences loved that Bright offered a form of escapism as it contained a fantastical and imaginative high concept, with one member even commending it for its choice not to provoke thought, "This is a great turn your brain off, enjoy the popcorn action buddy cop movie". Many of the comments also showed great interest in a sequel for the film which Netflix confirmed in December would take place, with Smith and Edgerton returning to star and David Ayer returning to direct and also write. In the case of Netflix that allows its paying members to leave reviews of the films that the company streams, viewers almost assume the role of a film critic; those who are scrolling through Netflix and deliberating over what to watch may choose to look at reviews written by users that could sway their decision.

Will Smith

So why did Bright become such a huge success in spite of the abysmal reviews that it received? One possible reason could be because of the film's star power, as actor and Hollywood legend Will Smith leads the charge and his presence is a draw to audiences. However, over the past few years, Smith's name above the poster has not been enough to entice vast audiences to buy a ticket to one of his films;Concussion (2015) grossed $48.6 million against a budget of $57 million and After Earth (2013) failed to double its net production budget of $128 million at the box-office. Neither of the aforementioned films were critical hits and their negative responses may have impacted their box-office and diminished commercial audience appeal.

Sarandon and Hastings

It's hard to determine a definite answer that solves the question of Bright's success, but Netflix executives and CEOs Tedd Sarandos and Reed Hastings have posited their own thoughts on the glaring disparity in this particular case between audiences and critics reactions. Sarandos said, "Critics are an important part of the artistic process, but [they are] pretty disconnected from the commercial prospects of a film. [Film critics] speak to specific audiences who care about quality, or how objectively good or bad a movie is - not the masses who are critical for determining whether a film makes money." Hastings then added a snippet that made the headlines across the industry trades,"The critics are pretty disconnected from the mass appeal."

Perhaps Sarandos and Hastings are right. Maybe critics have become too far removed from general audience taste. When crafting their reviews, they may neglect to include or mention how mass audiences may respond to the film in discussion and ultimately how that might translate into box-office (or streaming hits) numbers. However, I believe that this consideration of a film's potential popularity should not enter a critic's mind; a critic's duty is to given an honest opinion and judgement of a film's quality and present commercial audiences with, at times, thoughtful analysis on a film's themes or issues that make it problematic. For example, Bright received substantial criticism for its excessive focus on social commentary which was perceived as lazily executed by the creative team, and while the sample of reviews by Netflix members above may not reflect this, certain audiences may also find this flaw in the film and develop the same critical eye as a result.

Critics and audiences may not always see eye-to-eye and feel similarly about a film, but neither group's function and impact should be derided. The following blog post, Critics and Audiences: One of the Same of Poles Apart? Part II, will explore the reverse and opposite phenomenon of the case study involving Bright: when a film achieves critical adulation but commercial disappointment, with reference to the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049. 

Bibliography

Ehrlich, D (2017). 'Bright' Review: Netflix's Worst Blockbuster is the Worst Movie of 2017. [online] Available at: http://www.indiewire.com/2017/12/bright-review-netflix-will-smith-max-landis-david-ayer-worst-movie-2017-1201909960/ [27.01.2018]

(2017). Bright (2017) - Rotten Tomatoes. [online] Available at: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bright/ [27.02.2018]

Spangler, T. Netflix 'Bright' Lands 11 Million U.S Streaming Viewers Over First Three Days. [online] Available at: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/netflix-bright-ratings-viewers-nielsen-1202649332/ [27.01.2018]

Share, Z. Netflix Executives Say 'Bright' Success Proves Film Critics Are 'Disconnected From Mass Audience Appeal. [online] Available at: http://www.indiewire.com/2018/01/netflix-bright-success-film-critics-disconnected-dont-matter-1201921622/ [27.01.2018]