<< i think the critics hated it so everyone repeated their opinion verbatim, creating a never-ending spiral of blabbering about how it sucked for no real reason. >>
Not really. I usually take the critics in the exact opposite way. They love foreign art films and disney flicks, yet hate action movies. I'm the exact opposite. So when I saw Battlefield earth, I was giving it a chance. I thought travolta overacted, I didn't care for the main character at all, thought the dialog was cheesy, and I thought the plot was terrible. I *wanted* to be entertained, but it just didn't happen. I saw it several times (gotta love the campus movie channel at school) and never changed my opinion.