Good film criticism is rare, and should be cherished.
With 20 years’ experience behind him, and almost as many failed publications, Matt Glasby offers some three-star advice.
Watch everything you can
To write meaningfully about a subject—any subject—you need to know as much about it as possible. So watch, and read, as widely as you can. If you’re not sure where to begin, pick a best of list (Flicks, IMDB, Sight & Sound, BFI) and work your way through it.
Related reading:
* How to… make a Bond film
* The best movies of 2025 so far… and where to watch them
* How to… make a movie cameo
See old films, foreign films, the good, the bad and the ugly (see also: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).
After all, if you only watch films you think you’re going to like, you will only like films you think you want to watch. It’s not for everyone—nor, necessarily, a great way to get a job in the industry—but studying film opened up a big, beautiful doorway in my brain that I have never managed to close.
Choose a niche
The days of publications having one all-seeing all-knowing critic—in the Roger Ebert vein, say—are coming to a close. And so they should be. Not only are there too many films to cover, but having a multitude of voices is a much healthier way to engage with them all.
Writing about something you love and understand never gets old
White, straight, middle-aged, middle-class men (er, like me) have ruled the roost for years, but should they really be the final arbiters on whether, say, Moonlight authentically reflects the lived experience of young, gay Black men?
Once you’ve got a good grounding in the basics, try to find a niche. Doesn’t matter what it is—horror, rom-coms, 1980s body-swap flicks— but writing about something you love and understand never gets old.
Get out of your own way
While you’re watching a film, you need to get your own personality—your hopes, dreams and disappointments—out of the way. It’s only then you can see what it’s really trying to tell you, rather than what you want it to be trying to tell you.
Save your personality for when you start to write – you’re going to need it
Take notes—you’ll need to remember specifics sometimes months in the future, which gets complicated the more films you see—but otherwise let it wash over you.
Remember, you’re not evaluating it against your preconceived ideas, you’re evaluating it against two things: a) its own ambitions and b) every other similar film ever made. Save your personality for when you start to write—you’re going to need it.
Don’t overdo it
It’s unfashionable to admit, but it’s really, really hard to make a living as a film critic and, in the age of AI and internet saturation, getting harder.
Treat it as a passion, a calling—the film-makers deserve no less—but also bear in mind you’re very likely to need a supplementary income. If it’s in a related space—copywriting or editing, say—that’s all the better for sharpening your technique and making contacts.
But there’s also something to be said for time away from the screen. Churning out review after review, day after day, isn’t fair on anyone and quickly wears you out.
Don’t let yourself be exploited
Beware of anyone who makes money from their outlets, but refuses to use any of it to pay you.
Good criticism deserves to be paid for
Believe me, it’s a depressingly large percentage of places. No matter how they dress it up—as vital experience, your first byline or a good way to get a foot in the door—they’re exploiting you and degrading the discipline.
Good criticism deserves to be paid for. If you’re going to write for free, you may as well launch your own site.
Avoid the noise
Most critics see films at press screenings and film festivals, which are full of… other critics. Though unavoidable, this is an inherently flawed system because it means people immediately compare notes, dialling up or down their reviews depending on what everyone else thinks.
Consensus is the enemy of good criticism
After a while, this means all the reviews start sounding exactly the same. It may be useful for Rotten Tomatoes, but consensus is the enemy of good criticism.
Your individual, finely attuned response to a film is the only honest currency you have—even if it’s “wrong”.
Protect it with your life.
