> > Am I the only one who gets worried when people start saying
> > "I'm really disappointed in this movie. It doesn't live up to the
> > TV series, and all the good bits are in the trailer.
> > Oh, BTW, I haven't seen it yet"?
>
> You're right that it's slightly unfair, and I
> of course reserve final judgment until I've seen
> it. However, the evidence is disheartening. It
> wasn't screened for critics -- the surest sign
> that a movie's a flop

Maybe it just means the studio *thinks* it's a flop.

> It dropped 65% in its second
> weekend grosses -- so mainstream audiences think
> it's a flop.

Too many people listening to the critics?

> The critics who have reviewed it
> have often given it their bottom rating -- so
> critical audiences think it's a flop.

Some of them are probably upset about having to pay real money to see it like normal people.

> That means
> it has exactly one remaining chance to be good:
> if it develops a cult following, which usually
> takes some time to build.

I've been searching out all the reviews I can find, and it seems that everyone either thinks it's a great movie, or thinks it stinks.

Sounds like a cult film to me. :)

Alas, it also means that reviews are going to be next to useless in judging how good a film it is.