Occam's Razor for movies

[malenkiyscot]

In my very humble opinion one of the first questions to ask about a movie is this: Does the cinematic medium substantially add to the experience, or almost the same result may be achieved via a less heavy - in terms of the senses involved - presentation? Usually such a presentation would be a book, but in rare cases a soundtrack without a visual, or still pictures like comics (Spider-Man or X-Men, anybody?) would also do. A movie that fails this test is not worth further discussion.

As a rule of thumb, if the movie is heavily plot-based (be it a mystery, a romantic comedy, or even a suspense) then it does not pass the test. There are, of course, exceptions - usually when superb acting is involved.

On the other hand, such genres as slapstick or musicals are inherently cinematic (or theatrical).