Marvel’s newest series for Disney Plus, She-Hulk, has just premiered it’s very first episode. This latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees the introduction of Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters turning into a green six foot and seven inch long superpowered hulk. It’s then that she must find a way to juggle her life as a lawyer and her life now as a suppose superhero. Whether or not this is a show you feel like you will be into it, it’s available to now watch on Disney Plus if you want to see for yourself.
However, even before the series even aired it’s first episode, it was reviewed bombed to dead on IMDb and I’m sure plenty other websites like it such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. It’s been reported that the vast majority of reviewers was either rating it a perfect 10 stars or a low 1 star, with most of the 1 star reviews coming from male in their 30s, while reviews from females and younger males were much more positive.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happen with an MCU project in recent memory. There was a review bomb campaign for Captain Marvel months prior to that film’s release because of comments that star Brie Larson made about wanting to have more exclusive interviews for her press tour. There was also similar review bombing for Ms. Marvel and Eternals for reasons I’m sure relates to women, diversity, or LGBTQ+ like things. Granted, the ratings for those movies got better after they all came out but the fact they were even review bombed before it even released showed the distinct mindset from a certain group that is always spending too much time on the internet.
And there are definitely more and more examples of that when it comes to IMDb not even related to Marvel or featuring a cast and subject matter not surrounded with white men. Anyone remember when Interstellar was the highest rated movie of all time on that website weeks before the movie even came out in theaters (which is still ranked #27 of all time btw) ? Or how just about every new movie with well-acclaimed directors like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarnatino ends up with near perfect scores around the time they first come out all because it’s a movie made by them? This has been a constant occurrence over and over again for several years now. So much so that it’s time that major studios and even folks on the internet stop taking it seriously because it’s clearly not legit.
I remember back in early 2017 where I wrote a column during my Journalism course in college about IMDb deciding to shut down all message and discussion boards on their website. It was previously reported this was done due to the constant spam and trolling on the website that got to the point where the people in charge of the site just found it unbearable. Instead of taking the time of their day to be able to take down as much of these kind of accounts as they could, they decided to shut down the boards entirely. Because of that, fans and movie nerds around the globe would have to discuss and argue their fan theories on the next Star Wars and Avengers movie somewhere else. This was honestly the point where it seemed like even IMDb was well aware of their own reputation and how unreliable they are when it comes to rating movies.
There are definitely other uses when it comes to IMDb not involving rating movies. It’s useful for movie-related things such as keeping up with the box office, being up to date on release dates, looking up facts on what goes one behind the scenes with movies, making movie-related lists of your own, and clicking on interviews involving the cast and crew to discover new info about each newest feature film. However, it’s always the ratings and reviews from that website that gets the most attention. And with this constant spam, trolling, and review bombing, it’s time to take a stand against websites like this and stop treating the scores they get as anything particularly meaningful.
It’s always very clear the kind of demographic that does this constant review bombing day in and out with each certain film. So why do we still pay attention to those people and take them seriously in anyway? I’m never one to bluntly accuse someone of being racist, sexist, misogynist, misandrist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.., but it’s clear as daylight the folks that are any of this things and it makes me wonder how long do we have to keep this up? Eventually, the day will occur where these folks will get bored of doing this and finally move on with their lives, so why do we continue to focus on them now and give them all the attention they are clearly craving? It’s all annoying, repetitive, predictable, and just plain tiresome!
I’m sure there are people out there that have good reasons for not liking She-Hulk or any other thing I just mentioned but when the review bombing is so thuddingly obvious where it’s just constant spamming either positive or negatively, how can you really take it seriously? I get not everyone is filthy rich and want to spend the limited budget they have on something they would enjoy but if that’s the case, wouldn’t you be better off just following folks with legit opinions on the things you are interested in. Wouldn’t that be a better case of finding someone you share similar opinions with it and then deciding if you should watch something or not instead of just going on a website that is clearly full of spammers and taking that site’s word for it? I’m very certain you will get a better opinion or description on the thing you want to watch from those that have actually proof they have watched the thing.
Say what you will about Rotten Tomatoes or movie critics in general but at least the reviews from that site come from individuals that ACTUALLY watched the piece of media that they are praising or critiquing. You can at least say that they are not spammers or trolls, just normal everyday reviewers giving their two cents on the product they are being paid to cover. I will certainly take that over some dude bro on Metacritic giving The Last of Us: Part II a 0 because it’s “too woke” or whatever.
When it comes to websites involving reviewing or rating movie, I still say Letterboxd is the best one. It is able to contain sources from both professional reviewers and casual reviewers with less spam and trolling out of any popular site like that. It provides a good mix of critics and audiences with ratings that feel legit and represent the popular opinion on both sides with each new feature that comes out. And you are most likely to get the most in-depth reviews on the content they are reviewing and not just the completely one-note “it sucks” or “it is awesome” takes like you do with other sites just like it. Not to say Letterboxd is perfect by any means but I find them to be the most reliable with reviewing and rating movies.
Whenever I hear someone ask me why I trust critics more than mainstream audience, it’s because of things like this. It’s because of these group of individuals who have a very clear agenda that plague the internet with their hot takes, overlong reviews, and constantly putting words into people’s mouth who can’t come up with an opinion of their own. It’s why being a reviewer as become less and less enjoyable as times goes on. Because no matter how many credible reviewers your can find, there will be several more bias one that will take their place and be more successful just because negativity sells on the internet. People just want to see non-stop rants and complaining because that is what people find entertaining nowadays. It’s this sick and one-note mindset that is leading to movies being review bombed constantly that shows why websites like IMDb are worthless. They represent the one-note bias mindset that is currently plaguing the internet to this very day. Well, I’m not one of those and I’m sure there are many others that would agree with me!
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