I can still remember, distinctly, the first time I fell in love with film. Sure, I’ve always enjoyed watching them — but some films are just special. My first experience watching STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE was mind-altering, turning me into a rabid fan that consumed everything related to that franchise. But the ardent film fanaticism didn’t come until I first watched THE MATRIX. It was the first time I experienced a film that was deeply layered, requiring countless viewings to dissect it for all the hidden messages. It was my gateway into the large world of film criticism.
I’m an enthusiast when it comes to film. I’m always excited to watch a movie and experience it. Yes, there are movies that I don’t like — but I always make an effort to connect to a film on some level. It’s tough to let go of personal bias and experience a film with an open mind — so I don’t even try. I experience every film as the person I am — excited and optimistic.
Today, most film critique revolves around cataloguing new films. It makes sense. Readers are interested in the new and upcoming stuff. There really isn’t a market to go back and write about films that have already been released. But I think that a wonderful opportunity is being missed, all for the sake of cashing in on the trend of What’s Playing Now. Today, there are countless people telling us what movies are worth our time. We don’t even bother investing the time to discover a critic whose opinions we ultimately trust and respect. Instead, we rely on the aggregate scores from Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic.
Film discussion should be a doorway for readers to explore films that they have never heard of, or might have otherwise dismissed. There’s an old adage from Edmund Burke: Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. There is so much we can learn from films. We just have to open our minds.
I started The Film Legacy because I wanted to explore the legacy of films. Through my personal point of view, I want to discuss films critically and emotionally. Look, all films have a legacy. Some films are honored, others are reviled — and a great many still don’t have a legacy set in stone. With this website, I hope to speak to the lasting impact of movies. My goal is to highlight not only my personal interaction with a film, but also the impression I believe it might leave on future generations.
At the end of the day, I’m here in this space because I love movies. I’m not here to tell you what to watch, or to validate your personal preferences. All I’m going to do is describe my reaction to any given film and set it into a larger context.
And finally… what about spoilers? After all, movies studios have convinced us that we shouldn’t spoil any aspect of a film. And by doing that, they’ve removed the ability for critics to discuss any aspect of a film in depth. But if a film review is written in such a way that any actual discussion is avoided, there’s no value in the critique. You don’t need to inherently spoil a film to discuss it, but you should know going into my reviews that you’re going to get an unvarnished take on my thoughts. Simply put: Things will be spoiled.
Thanks for visiting, and I hope you enjoy The Film Legacy!
– Chris Carey
The Film Legacy 