Emiliano Joyner

ENC1102

Munsell

9/30/22

Rhetorical Analysis of a Film Review

December 21, 2018 the movie “Aquaman” released to theaters in the United States. A

superhero action movie focusing on the origin of the DC Comics superhero Aquaman. On

December 20, 2018 Matt Zoller Seitz released his review of the movie on RogerEbert.com. Matt

wrote this review to give his insight and thoughts on the movie and to ultimately let possible

viewers know if it is worth the watch. Matt gave the film an overall rating of 3.5 stars. To

provide a quick synopsis of the review, Matt found it to be an overall decent and entertaining

film.

Matt starts out his review with a simile comparing the film to the popular children’s show

“Spongebob Squarepants”, known to be very caricatured and unrealistic. Matt states, "Aquaman"

is as concerned with scientific accuracy as “SpongeBob SquarePants.” And that’s one of many

reasons why I like it.” This rhetorical strategy, simile, is pathos as it makes us feel as though

Matts argument is sound. I found this to be a good comparison as “Aquaman” is not some

groundbreaking and thought-provoking film, rather an entertaining and action filled movie. It is

important to point out that while some of what Matt says could be taken harshly, he makes it

clear that he enjoyed the movie, as can be seen in the earlier quote. I mention this as Matt creates

a particular tone and writes in a certain style.

 The tone that is set in the review is rather humorous and informal. In a way the review

and tone set very much reflects the movie, or at least Matts view of it. I feel that the tone

presented falls within ethos as Matt appears to be somewhat critical and honest. He considers the

movie to be rather lighthearted, comedic, and yet still fulfilling. This is evident when Matt says,

“For all its wild spectacle and cartoon cleverness, this is a quietly subversive movie, and an

evolutionary step forward for the genre.”

Matt appeals to logos throughout his review by using logic. He talks about how the film

is akin to many others of its genre and if it you liked them, logically, you will like “Aquaman.”

Matt also goes on to talk about how much money, effort, and time was put into the film and how

it is evidently reflected throughout. “They concentrate on characterization and performances,

production design, costumes—the look, the feel, the vibe of it all”, this piece from the review

shows how the effort put in shows in the overall tone of the movie.

Overall, Matt puts forth a very convincing and effective argument in this review. The

way that he styled and set the tone to reflect the film he was reviewing, the highlighting of the

movie’s strongpoints, and the way he compares it to something we all know. Matt found the film

to be rather enjoyable and it is obviously shown throughout this review and is thoroughly

backed. Although I had already seen the “Aquaman” prior to reading the review and writing this

paper I am tempted to watch it again with Matts opinions on my mind.

 Works Cited

 Seitz, Matt Zoller. “Aquaman Movie Review & Film Summary (2018): Roger Ebert.”

Movie Review & Film Summary (2018) | Roger Ebert, 20 Dec. 2018,

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/aquaman-2018.