I’m going to begin this article by saying that every individual has a right to express their opinion. If they don’t like a movie or show, they’re allowed to dislike it, and vice versa if they like it.
Where I draw the line is review bombing. It’s childish, it’s sad, and it’s pathetic. If you’re one of those who review bomb something or join in, this article is directed at you.
Marvel’s She-Hulk is the latest show to be affected by this. The first episode currently has 31.9% 1-star ratings, vastly different from Ms. Marvel’s 19.9%. These numbers are 5 days out of date, but The Direct managed to showcase all of the 1-star reviews across the Disney+ shows.
She-Hulk never had the perfect opener but it wasn’t a 1 star-rated episode. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only show to have felt the impact of this. Moon Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Boys, Miles Morales (PS5), Lightyear, Ms. Marvel are all projects that have suffered.
The reason why I have a big issue with review bombing is when people are looking at reviews to decide whether or not they wish to invest their time, they’re met with this. It affects the project and any future projects if the studio cares about the reviews. After all, if you invested millions into something, and people just say it’s shit, then what’s the point of making anything else?
Understandably, if something’s poor then it deserves poor ratings – but in these instances, they’re not. I’m not often swayed by reviews, I tend to do my own research but reviews are here for a reason. To get an informed opinion on a show, movie, product, or service.
If you watched the first episode of She-Hulk for example and truly believed it only warranted 1 star, then, by all means, post your review and detail the reasons why you believe that. I do believe if something is truly that bad then it deserves negative reviews, but my issue is when it’s unwarranted. This is my problem with this.
To just go on a social platform, see there’s a craze for it, then to get involved is just sad.
Last of Us II got heavily review bombed due to the opening scene of Joel being killed by Abby, then being forced to play as Abby. I didn’t like this idea but I loved the first game so I decided to give it a chance FIRST BEFORE leaving any reviews on my thoughts. It turned out, that I really enjoyed the game albeit not as much as the first.
To put it bluntly, if you invest your time and/or money into something and don’t like it, you have a right to complain. However, if you haven’t invested either or given the project a chance, then jump in with an internet mob for the sake of it, then this is the problem. If you also review bomb something based on something outside of the merits of the project, then this is also an issue. If you 1-star She-Hulk then you’re telling me the episode is disgustingly bad with no redemption whatsoever.
As I’ve already mentioned, I know She-Hulk’s opener wasn’t perfect, and the CGI is still absolutely awful – but just because of this, it wouldn’t warrant a full low review because the rest of the episode was entertaining.
Reviews should be honest and concise so people reading them can make an informed choice. I’ve read reviews before that was negative and still decided to give something a chance and it turned out to be great, but people with very limited time may decide to skip on this, affecting the overall profits, then further affecting future releases.
Again, please understand, that if something IS really THAT bad, then it’s fair game.
