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The Tagline on the cover says "An activeness-packed thrill ride!" This line is and so generic information technology'due south almost invisible. It says nothing! I defy y'all to come up with a more than forgettable box quote. For bonus points use the words Fast, Furious, Rollercoaster and Tour de Force... Ugh, No-holds-barred, I forgot that one.

Also known as "reviewer-speak."

Coming up with original reviews for multiple works within the same month, calendar week or result can be hard. That's why many reviewers, amateur critics, and even travel writers will utilize certain stock words, phrases, and terms for works.

Some examples of this are "X on fissure" ,"X Meets Y", "best X of the year", "fun for the whole family!" These cliches are oftentimes parodied.

Reviewer Standard Comparisons is a Sub-Trope.

Examples of Reviewer Stock Phrases include:

Literature

• The elevation 20 most annoying book reviewer cliches and how to use them all in ane meaningless review
• Literary critics in particular tend to utilise the phrase "tour de force", usually apropos of extremely pretentious or confusing works.
• "Folio-turner" comes upwardly often.
• The Discworld volume The Truth played with this trope. Equal Rites had a foreword reading "This book is not wacky. Only dumb redheads in Fifties sitcoms are wacky. It isn't zany, either."
• If the novel accurately captures a teen'south vocalisation, await the phrase "like Holden Caulfield" to pop upward somewhere.
• Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart'southward books mock this consistently. Some highlights (paraphrased).

"Best book ever. Or perchance I'm dead and Colbert's taking advantage of this fact by signing my proper noun to this review. Either way, you got to admit, he's got guts." -J D Salinger. "A must-read! I laughed, I cried, I lost x pounds!" -Stephen Colbert

• If it's aimed at young adults and has even the slightest element of fantasy, it'll be perfect for Harry Potter fans, regardless of any actual similarities.
  • Fifty-fifty if information technology isn't, it'due south still open to comparing these days. See certain editions of Dragonriders of Pern books, and how for a while every The Dresden Files book had "...equally some other wizard named Harry" on the forepart or back (or both). Not as painful since after books came out, but it still leads to misunderstandings.
  • In the same vein, if information technology has anthropomorphic woodland creatures, especially if they're mice, it'll be "perfect for fans of Redwall."
• The Dresden Files has too had the aforementioned Amusement Weekly quote on every book in the series, dating back to the very commencement:
  • "Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe."
• If it resembles a better-known piece of work in the same genre, you might run across "invites comparison to..." This can backlash, however. ("Invites comparison to Lord of the Rings. Lord Of The Rings was great. This is crap.")
• Some variant of "I couldn't put it down" oft turns upward in positive reviews, although this at to the lowest degree Ways something. As literary types, critics are naturally uncomfortable using wacky and zany neologisms similar "unputdownable".
  • Nigh equally common is the tongue-in-cheek review of a Doorstopper that says "I couldn't selection information technology up..."
• The Cynic's Dictionary past Russell Ash had a whole chapter devoted to these. Ane was "Enthralling: Literally, enslaving. If yous want to be a book's slave..."
• If any not-fiction book discusses psychopaths or "evil people" in full general, expect the adjective "spooky" to be abused ceaselessly, though information technology is questionable whether any of these books have ever lowered someone's body temperature.
  • This doesn't utilize only the non-fiction, of grade. Patently every single mystery novel ever is "spooky" as well.
• When Monty Python was asked to review The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Milky way, John Cleese decided to go with stock phrases; naturally, the others pointed it out:

Really entertaining and fun. — John Cleese I know for a fact that John Cleese hasn't read it. — Graham Chapman Really entertaining and fun. — Michael Palin

Film

• "Riveting". When was the last fourth dimension you saw that discussion used outside of a picture review context? Autonomously from metalwork class that is?
  • Oh yeah. Foamy The Squirrel even railed confronting this during one of his famous rants.
  • Dave Barry once claimed to have been "literally riveted to [his] seat, by literal rivets."
• Activeness movies and books will usually be "Thrilling," "Suspenseful," "Gripping," and "High-Octane," amidst many others.
  • Expect whatsoever action-comedy review to feature the word "romp" at to the lowest degree in one case.
  • Every activeness movie has at some indicate been referred to as a "roller-coaster ride" or "thrill ride". Directors are typically called "visionary" for reasons which are often unclear.
• Family comedies will ordinarily be "Fun for the whole family" or something to that effect.
• Comedies in general will ever be "hilarious" and "laugh-out-loud funny!"
• Documentaries will oftentimes be "idea-provoking" or "controversial"
• Film reviews of blockbusters often feature "This Yr's X": "Star Trek is this year's Atomic number 26 Homo", for example. "The Next X" is similiar, also for people who can't encompass that something tin can stand on its own without being compared to something else.
• "Smart, sexy and..." fill up-in-the-bare. "Absurd," "fun," and "activeness-packed" work.
• The "It'due south Die Hard On An 10" line that's popped upwardly in reviews for the past 22 years.
• Bright Lights Film Periodical's Banned Words.
• Peter Travers, the film critic for Rolling Stone, often peppers his reviews with platitude phrases like "crackerjack thrillride," "savour the air workout," or "check your brain in at the door" to draw action movies that require little attention.
• Few activity movie set-ups are equally overworked and meaningless equally the former one-two punch of invoking the "unstoppable chain of events" that volition accept you "on the edge of your seat."
• The posters for Dumb and Dumber parodied this with fictitious review quotes such as, "It'southward a movie feel for anyone who goes to see it" and "I laughed til I stopped."
• Many reviewers accept taken after Roger Ebert's 'two thumbs upwardly' signature. Sometimes something else will be substituted depending on the movie, ie two paws or some such.

Music

• "For fans of (list three bands, one or ii of those whose names are thrown around also much in their genre, and i that seems a scrap out of left field)."
• "Sophomoric" has become a platitude phrase within music reviews. Every bit has the infamous "Sophomore Slump" that critics employ to describe disappointing follow-up records.
• Accept you ever heard "whiskey-soaked" to describe anything but a blues or classic rock album?
  • "Whiskey-soaked" is the stock phrase to describe Tom Waits' voice.
• Beak Anschell's "How to Be a Jazz Critic" is basically a list of these.
• It seems that every rock single that gets released these days is an "anthem" of some kind. "An indie-stone anthem," "an anthem for today's generation," etc.
• Whatever variant on "Their old stuff was ameliorate" will practice.
• Don't forget "pretentious", "self-indulgent" or "dinosaur", especially where 1970'due south rock non amounting to 3 Chords and the Truth or Totally Radical is concerned.
• Annihilation recorded betwixt 1976 and 1982 volition take to answer to punk or new wave, Similarly, anything recorded between 1988 and 1997 will have to answer to Culling Rock or grunge. In short, if there's a destructive musical movement caustic critics champion every bit cutting edge or the future of music, especially if the album or creative person is seen as "irrelevant" to that new movement, then expect that subject to be brought up in each review, regardless of the reviewed album's style, demographic or artistic intent. Certainly don't expect that review to have (or to understand) a not-"relevant" artist or way on its own merits.
  • Here's a game for you to play: Every time you encounter a music magazine use the word "relevant" as a replacement for "good" - take a shot. (On second idea, don't.)
• "Raucous."
• A member of Sonic Youth once said during an interview that every album they release is invariably called either "A return to focus," "more vocal-oriented," or both.
• "Virtuosic" is almost e'er used for jazz, tech metal, and progressive stone artists. Besides, "chops" seems to be the standard euphemism for whatever kind of musical talent.
• Guitar solos are e'er "blisteringly fast," or played with "lightning speed."
  • Alternatively,"searing" or "blazing."
• At that place's a very nice list of these sorts of phrases on this page.
• When reading whatever review for a guitar, amp or effects pedal, await any of these terms: Crunchy, gritty, bluesy, baking, searing, fatty, mesomorphic, broad, smoothen, biting, nasty, squeals, scooped, tinny, rich, warm, hollow, tubey and sings.
  • And in a video review, no matter what they're reviewing, if they're playing a guitar they volition brand their O-face up the whole time.
• David Bowie historians/biographers, and even the human being himself, accept noticed that starting with 1993's Black Tie White Noise, his first solo anthology of The Nineties, critics love to utilise some variant on the praise "his best album since Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" when reviewing his work. (That 1980 New Wave album was followed by the mainstream popular-rock, mega-selling Allow's Dance and and then the dork ages of his mid-'80s output and the unsuccessful group Tin Automobile.) Additionally, every article or review about David Bowie will utilize the give-and-take "chameleon" in one of the very first sentences.
• Similarly, every Rolling Stones album will be called "their best album since Tattoo You" or "their best album since Some Girls". The next step on the ladder is "their best album since Exile On Chief St." but although the phrase has been uttered occasionally, consensus is that only Some Girls itself deserves it. The problem is that, your logical and mathematical mind might deduce that Rolling Stones' albums since the one after Tattoo You are meliorate and better each time, only the review usually manages to imply that the album before the one nether review was their worst ever. Which when given a careful thought makes absolutely no sense.
• For Bob Dylan, it's "best since Blood on the Tracks. Manner to brush over decades worth of great cloth.

Live Action Idiot box

• One episode of Spin Metropolis had the Mayor asking his staff for their reviews of his performance every bit mayor. Paul'southward review consisted entirely of lines like these he stole from various movie reviews, including the line, "Stallone is pure adrenaline."
• On episode of 30 Rock has Pete use the stock acting description to say that Tracy Morgan is phoning it in. Then clarifies that this is Not Hyperbole, he's doing the scene over the phone from his dressing room.

Video Games

• Games Radar has a database of Reviewer stock phrases, with 100 entries.
• The GamersWithJobs Conference Telephone call, a weekly video game podcast, has a self-imposed and largely unsuccessful ban on the words "visceral" and "compelling," amid others.
  • ENN had a segment about a robotic game reviewer that judged everything "compelling", which afterwards became a tagline for the testify.
• "The X Killer". Retrieve Killzone, which everyone said would exist a "Halo killer"? No, of course non.
• Killer App: a game and so good it'due south a system seller: Super Mario Bros., Halo, Tetris, Metal Gear Solid, et al.
• 10 Clone: a game that uses a recent successful game's fashion in a expert or bad manner. Double points if the "10" is extremely old and part of a genre that has changed a lot over time (like Doom for a First-Person Shooter) or Newer Than They Think and not what the game is really inspired by: (Bayonetta was named a God of War clone instead of Devil May Cry, with which it shares a director). Triple points if information technology'south actually kind of authentic - see Saints Row later on Thou Theft Auto or UFO Afterblank for X-COM.
  • League of Legends developers Riot Games actually invented the term Multiplayer Online Boxing Loonshit (MOBA) to describe their game because they were sick and tired of everyone referring to the genre as a DotA Clone.
• "If this is the sort of game you'll like, then this is the sort of game y'all'll similar."
• Before the whole recent push towards existence obsessed with Retro Gaming, it was common to see any post-1999 2D game existence described as having "SNES graphics" in a bad style. Now people are starting to learn what SNES graphics actually were.
• "Innovative," which gets dragged out whenever a game or peripheral uses an unconventional gimmick. They beat this horse particularly difficult when the Wii and DS came out, just they learned their lesson when competing Waggle-devices were released.

Western Animation

• "It'south like South Park in/on/with X" was and still is very pop to describe any very "mature" bit of western animation that includes loads of swearing or adult situations. It used to exist that any very "mature" show that was a Refuge in Vulgarity or Refuge in Brazenness was compared to The Simpsons, but this has been phased out with other outrageous drawing shows from Western Animation. All the same another sign that The Simpsons isn't as outrageous every bit it used to be.
  • Given some episodes of recent years, Hilarious in Hindsight too.

Comics

• Dilbert mocks this when Dogbert starts a film reviewing business organisation, providing the review the filmmaker wants for a price. One man asks what the cost is for "Best movie so far this year" for a film coming out January first.

Other

• Whenever an internet-based critic reviews something bad, expect a lot of fecal and/or sexual metaphors and swears.
• "Pedestrian" sees a lot of use among the more pretentious media critics.
• As George Carlin hilariously mocked, you can always expect "zesty," "tangy," or some other meaningless just novel discussion from bad food critics.
  • There's also the Food Network favorite, "nutty"
• Also, "fruity," "dry out," or "aged to perfection" are guaranteed from whatsoever wine review.
  • Speaking of those, no i e'er drinks in wine reviews or "bar scene" columns in newspapers - they "tipple," "imbibe," or "libate." Similarly, confined are never just called bars - they're "watering holes," "dives," or "haunts".
• The term "night." It's very old, tracing dorsum to the Biblical days or further, and ane of the most overused descriptors in the history of media. Any testify that's violent, negative, or set in a Crapsack Globe is "dark." Any ring that makes ominous, angsty, or sad music will inevitably exist chosen "dark." Characters ever have "nighttime pasts" and "nighttime secrets" that volition one day lead them to The Dark Side. (Not to mention that a "Dark and stormy nighttime" is never a good thing.) Thankfully, this is often subverted.
  • The Encyclopedia Metallum lampshaded this i: when listing a ring's genre, it is expressly forbidden to describe them as "night metal", their reasoning being that this clarification could literally mean admittedly annihilation.
• Many upcoming artists (in all mediums) are oft called "[Identify]'s answer to [Similar, only much more famous person or ring.]" For example, "Paris, Texas'south answer to Metallica."
• Freakonomics suggests that real estate agents do this; for example, describing as house every bit "fantastic" is strongly correlated with it being overpriced and/or a chip of a lemon, considering they only accept to resort to the generic adjectives when there's zip particularly good about it.
• "I laughed. I cried. It was better than Cats!"
• Machine magazines, British ones in particular, are addicted of praising models with particularly good space utilization past comparison them to the TARDIS.
• The word chic in mode, can be applied to anything the reviewer likes, the word having no actual pregnant unto itself.
  • Ritz, glitz, chic, freak(y), geek, trashy, and in. All entirely meaningless nowadays. Can also exist applied to gossip rags when applicable.

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Source: https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Reviewer_Stock_Phrases

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