There has a been a lot of chatter this week about the slightly controversial YouTube channel, CinemaSins. Very upfront about what it’s all about, the channel picks apart movies, and logs their flaws with a sin counter. They tally everything that either doesn’t make sense, or seems repetitive, or that is just too far gone for a person to appreciate or understand the first time they watch the film in question.
For some, CinemaSins can be a very entertaining platform. The concept of tackling otherwise respected films, and some not so respected, and finding minute details that make the film less than stellar has great potential for witty commentary and candor. However, the channel recently received criticism following a video on “Kong: Skull Island.” The film’s final tally by the end of the 20-minute video was 146 “sins” from odd edits to unexplainable happenings in the plot. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts lashed out at CinemaSins for their “self importance,” calling their attempt at satire “amateur hour.” But he wasn’t the first to take issue with the channel.
Last year, a YouTube user going simply by the name of Shaun, compiled his own complaints about CinemaSins. Having watched their video on George Miller’s widely acclaimed “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the Youtube user decided to break down the CinemaSins commentary, and it doesn’t take long to expose the satire channel’s exhausting approach which often finds them fundamentally misunderstanding the film they’re watching. Shaun also takes a look at CinemaSins’ video for “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back,” before eventually using two lengthy videos to highlight how many mistakes the YouTube channel in their own videos, and much more.
As Vogt-Roberts said, the claim that the CinemaSins is just making a bunch of jokes doesn’t quite hold up to scrutiny, and Shaun elaborates on many of the points the director made. Take a look at the video playlist below and share your thoughts in the comments section.