There's so much media buzz surrounding the controversial film, 'The Interview' that it may be enough to draw audiences to purchase movie tickets and downloads. Even so, it's apparently not enough to gain favor from movie critics.

While it currently holds a higher rating on review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes with 68 percent, critics have slammed the film as a disappointing comedy.

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Bloomberg Businessweek says it "plays less like a climax and more like the out-takes that film- makers sometimes roll after the credits".

The Boston Globe refers to the film as a "dopey bro-com" noting that it "was bound to disappoint."

Wired pointed out the "bad CGI and continuity holes," with editor Joe Brown noting that there isn't really much to say about the film. "If I had seen it in a theater, I would not have walked out, but I might have taken a nap."

The Verge encouraged audiences to simply spend time with the family instead of taking the time or effort to catch the film. "The Interview is a bad movie that trivialises one of the worst ongoing human rights violations on our planet right now, and its distribution, as integral as it is to our First Amendment rights, will change absolutely nothing."

Other reviews, while scant, were more positive. One encouraging review from Rolling Stone says "The Interview hits the sweet spot for raunchy fun and spiky lampooning because Franco and Rogen are hilarious and fearless about swinging for the fences."

Yet perhaps out of curiosity, "The Interview" has made a reasonable $1 million on its opening day, despite the fact that it opened in less than 10 percent of the nationwide theaters where it was originally intended. Most filmgoers cited their support of free speech as their motivation for going out to see the film.

Featuring A-list stars such as comedian Seth Rogen and James Franco, 'The Interview' is premised on the fictional assassination of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un and was slated for a December 25 theatrical release.

However, challenges surrounding the premiere of the film prevailed, starting with a cyber attack against the studio behind the film that released private and sensitive correspondence between Sony honchos and industry personalities. Among the names dragged into the scandal were Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and President Barack Obama.

After announcing that the studio would agree to hackers demands and pull the film's Christmas Day release, Sony flip-flops and decides to release the film via independent theaters and online through YouTube charging $5.99 to rent and $14.99 to purchase. 

TagsThe Interview, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Reviews