Talk:Viggo Mortensen/GA1

GA Review
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Reviewer: TompaDompa (talk · contribs) 23:35, 7 August 2023 (UTC)

This is a WP:QUICKFAIL based on criterion 1 (It is a long way from meeting any one of the six good article criteria). Specifically, it is far from meeting WP:GACR 1, which mandates that the article be well-written. This is not trivially fixable, because it is not just a matter of individual sentences needing copyediting. The overall impression I get when reading this article is that it was written piecemeal over a fairly long period of time (perhaps updated as time went on). That is of course probably exactly what happened, but it shouldn't show. Articles should ideally look as if they were written all in one go by a subject-matter expert after reading all the relevant literature and carefully considering the best way to structure the article in order to present the information as effectively as possible. While it is not necessary to accomplish that level of writing quality, this article needs to be rewritten to give a more cohesive impression so it at least comes closer. There is also an issue of tone, where the article to a large extent reads like an attempt to present its subject in a positive light (this could be reflective of the overall literature; I haven't checked). I'm afraid this means that the article will pretty much need to be rewritten from the ground up to meet the standards to be considered for WP:Good article status. I'll provide a (non-exhaustive) sample of issues I noted while reading through the article: The "Filmography" section is also mostly unsourced, which would in itself be sufficient for a quickfail and which I will tag accordingly. TompaDompa (talk) 23:35, 7 August 2023 (UTC)
 * He appeared in several notable films – MOS:NOTABLE.
 * The first paragraph of the WP:LEAD is basically just a laundry list of films.
 * A third teaming with Cronenberg – odd phrasing.
 * Large portions of the body resemble WP:Proseline writing.
 * During the 1990s, Mortensen appeared in supporting roles in a variety of films [...] – again basically just a laundry list of films.
 * films such as The Lord of the Rings and Alatriste. Mortensen also talked about his work with Bob Anderson, the swordmaster on The Lord of the Rings, Alatriste [...] – there is really no reason to repeat links in consecutive sentences like this.
 * While it was reported in April 2009 that Mortensen had, at least temporarily, retired from film acting, Mortensen said he was misquoted. In a 2012 interview, he denied that he ever said he was retiring, only that he didn't have "plans to do another movie" at the time and that he was "taking a little break now. I don't have anything lined up." – was this a serious rumour? It is not self-evident that this should be included at all (an incorrect rumour of this kind seems like a WP:MINORASPECT, prima facie).
 * The play is about a man and woman confined either a psychiatric hospital or prison together. – anacoluthon. Also, "either"?
 * The play premiered from November 4 to December 18. – surely it only premiered once, on November 4.
 * During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mortensen together with Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Miranda Otto, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, and Elijah Wood, plus writer Philippa Boyens and director Peter Jackson from The Lord of the Rings in May 2020 joined actor Josh Gad's YouTube series Reunited Apart, which reunites the cast of popular movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities. – this is a run-on sentence, and very difficult to parse as a result. It's also a single-sentence paragraph.
 * which he also wrote, produced, composed the score and starred in – not grammatical.
 * The sentences Mortensen was cast as British cave diver Rick Stanton in the biographical film Thirteen Lives directed by Ron Howard which was released in July 2022., He reunited with David Cronenberg in the horror sci-fi film Crimes of the Future alongside Kristen Stewart with filming beginning in August 2021., and He will star and direct in a Western film which he wrote, starring Vicky Krieps later in the year titled The Dead Don't Hurt, with shooting to commence in Mexico. all suffer from clunky phrasing and dubious grammar.
 * Mortensen will also reunite with Lisandro Alonso on the film Eureka. – reunite from where? This is the first time Alonso has been mentioned in the article.
 * In 2016, Mortensen traveled to New York to take care of his father, who died a year later. Two years earlier, Mortensen's mother had also died from complications of the condition. – rather odd to present this out of chronological order.
 * he publicly criticized the use of his character Aragorn – certainly not "his" character. If they used his likeness and he criticized that, write that instead.