Mat has an interesting point here: Thanks to bloggers, Star Wars Episode II will have more reviews written about it than any movie that has come before it. If we’re talking about only reviews written by Bloggers, then the point is definitely valid. While Episode II certainly has had a great acceleration of reviews (so many in so short a time), does it really match the amount of reviews that have been made of movies that have been around for decades? Although Star Wars defined the term blockbuster, a movie such as All About Eve has been around for 50 years and it’s probably safe to say it’s been seen and reviewed more than a movie that came out yesterday.
Also, people simply giving their opinion in a short paragraph saying, “Yes, I liked this movie” does not, necessarily, qualify as a review, does it? Because, to follow your example, if I just saw All About Eve, and wrote on my weblog, “We just watched All About Eve. It was really great. The acting was phenominal,” does that mean that All About Eve now has another review on the web? I think it’s all relative.
Darren, point taken in reference to the short review. I do beilieve that a review is little more than a positive or negative vote: hence the “2 thumbs up.”
But just by virtue of how many people are now capable of publishing, SWE2 is going to surpass classics in terms of volume. Of course, if blogging continues to proliferate, e3 could pass e2.
But you’re right, it is completely based on whether or not you consider the one and two-liners to be reviews. In any case, more people will weigh in on this than have other movies, imo.