The People of the Internet have spoken: The Interview is amazing. They haven't seen it, of course—Sony Pictures Entertainment cancelled its release last week after hackers threatened terrorist-style attacks on theaters. But a complete lack of relevant knowledge about something has never stopped the Internet from commenting fervently about it, which is why the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy has a user rating of 9.9 (down from a perfect 10) on IMDb and a 96 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Those scores far exceed those given by people who have actually seen The Interview. The movie, about an utterly absurd plot to assassinate Dear Leader Kim Jong-un of North Korea, is currently pulling a 53 percent Tomatometer score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 47 (out of 100) on Metacritic. Opinions range from "laugh out loud funny" to "about as funny as a communist food shortage," but clearly this isn't the Greatest Movie of Our Time. But that's not why thousands of people are praising a movie they (presumably) haven't seen. It's about taking a stand.
For anyone who's been asleep since Thanksgiving, Sony Pictures was hacked in a most epic way (the government says North Korea did it, but others aren't so sure), in retaliation for the movie. A group calling itself Guardians of Peace has claimed credit, and threatened a 9/11-style attack on theaters showing the film. Sony has since cancelled its release. By giving The Interview glowing reviews, the thinking goes, those making the threat will hear loud and clear that The People support this movie and will not buckle to terrorists. "KIM JONG UN IS GONNA GET FUCKED BY THE LONG DICK OF FREEDOM," read a now-gone post on 4chan calling upon people to boost the film's IMDb to a perfect 10.
Other comments were (slightly) less juvenile. "The movie that caused WWIII and we regret nothing!" wrote Rotten Tomatoes user Dan E. A review by Hardy C intoned, "Now that no one can see this film, it is a matter of national honor to give it 5 stars and demand its release." Another member of the RT community—Jared K—wrote, "Havn't [sic] seen it but its already on my favorite list."
Jared K may soon have an opportunity to offer a fully informed opinion. Sony lawyer David Boies, whom you may remember from hits like the documentary film The Case Against 8, in which he won the battle against California's ban on gay marriage, told Meet the Press "[The Interview] will be distributed." When and how that happens remains to be seen. There were whispers over the weekend that Sony would release the film via its streaming service Crackle, but others claim that's not the case.
Once it is released---if it is released---chances are the movie will be more popular than it otherwise might have been. Before the Sony hack, The Interview wasn't exactly getting a lot of buzz, and as a Rotten Tomatoes commenter noted, "Let's be honest. ... If not for the publicity created by North Korea, it would have bombed big time."
And that may well be the most interesting thing about the Sony hack (well, aside from the warm conviviality between Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin): The Interview, a movie previously known, at best, as "that new Seth Rogen and James Franco thing," is now the most talked about movie in the world. In attempting to shut it down, the Guardians of Peace or whoever hacked Sony has instead made it the most popular thing out there. More than that, though, it's become a political statement. The Interview, a film that "use[s] major global issues to cheaply dress up what is two hours of hit-and-miss erection jokes," is the battleground for Free Speech versus Fear. Even the President is involved.
"This is bigger than Sony at this point," Matt Mason, BitTorrent's chief content officer, told Fast Company, while also offering to release the film on his service. "We can't let this go, and by we I mean the free world. When it comes to freedom of speech, what's happening with this is really frightening. This film should come out, whether on BitTorrent or not, even if it's the worst movie in the world."
No one---not critics, not Sony, and maybe not even the hackers themselves---could've anticipated that reaction.
