walking out on a movie... (1 Viewer)

What's your policy on walking out on a movie before it is finished? Will you walk out if the movie passes a certain "awfulness" threshold, or do you stick it out until the end no matter what?

I walked out on a film yesterday (samuel l. jackson's "no good deed") because after an hour it had passed my awfulness threshold and i saw no prospect that it would get any better if i kept sitting there. So i left. But, it occurred to me that i hadn't done that in ages, even though i've seen many movies that i ended up evaluating as big disappointments, not entertaining, silly, stupid, offensive, etc.

That made me think about what criteria i use to decide whether to walk out or not. I'd say that in general, a combination of optimism ("it might get better and if it does i don't want to miss out"), inertia ("it's easier just to sit through until the end"), and a sense of sunk costs ("if i walk out i'll have lost the $5 investment in the ticket") keep me in my seat, even if i'm not enjoying myself.

Until a certain pain threshold tips those scales...

I almost walked out on Dreamcatcher, after watching it all the way through I wish I had.

It would be hard for me to walk out, because sometimes I tend to think it might come up with some redeeming quality. Usually though most films start good and end bad, like Identity.

I almost walked out on Dreamcatcher, House on Haunted Hill, and The Haunting.

Nope, never walk out of a movie. I suffer to the very end. I don't believe in blowing 20 bucks for a ticket and refreshments and then walking out. I have come close though, especailly while viewing "House of 1,000 Corpses" and more recently, "Cabin Fever."

I can't say I've ever done this. Even the really awful movies usually have something that recoups some of the ticket price, and it may be toward the end. The wondering afterward would bug me too much.

On video, though, I've got no qualms about hitting "stop".

I've walked out of plays at the interval (mostly really lacklustre productions of Shakespeare, which if it ain't done well, just drags), never a movie.

I think the reason is that even with a bad movie I'll stop to see how the plot turns out. With most plays I see, they're classics where I already know the plot, so there's less motivation to stay if the production doesn't appeal.

The only movie I was ever tempted to leave early was 'The Avengers'. It had got really bad reviews from the UK press even before it opened, and the cinema was practically deserted. People started walking out after half an hour, and by the end there were only about five of us in the place.

nope. not gonna blow my $20 like that.

i wanted to walk out of queen of the damned, but my mother was with me, so i stuck it out.

and I never buy stuff at movies. I can wait 2 hours if i need something to drink or eat. I just wont pay that much and then have to go to the bathroom and miss some parts cause i drank so much. Last time I did that was during MI2

Never done it myself. But I was pretty damn tempted when I saw A.I.

Looking back I probably should have...

I never walk out, no matter how awful it is and it isn't a money thing either. I just simply have to know exactly what happens (even if its predictible), it would bug me too much afterwards. Even if i've rented a DVD I won't press the stop button same situation for me as the cinema. I also figure if I stop with 40mins to go what else productive am I really going to do in that time.

I never do it just for the respect of everyone else. I don't wanna disturb people by getting up and saying "Sorry".. I don't like to put my head in other's view.

But at home, I press POWER OFF or CHANGE CHANNEL all the time!

On a side note, I don't walk out in the middle of a movie, but I do sometimes walk in the middle of a movie

only time I ever walked out: COOL WORLD

I'm a "bitter ender" too. Like Nick, I just need to know how it ends. Almost walked on Malena, 200 Cigarettes, and maybe a couple of others I've washed from my memory, but I always stick it out.

On DVD, I will fast forward if the movie is bad enough, since the picture remains clear enough to get the gist of what is happening. Then I'll stop, see if anything worth watching is happening and ff again. I always watch the last 10m though.

Looking at it now, I think I would never walk out on a movie. I can only think that doing that would make going to the movie pointless, why even take the chance with any movie from then on. But a lot of times I'll wish I had.

On DVD though I just fast forward in super fast mode.

I did it once for Any Given Sunday. I grinded it out and grinded it out. The last straw was when the eyeball, with nerves attached, was on the frickin football field. I was too pissed off to watch another minute.

And to think that this film was being lauded as the most realistic football film ever.

I would have walked out on A Thin Red Line if I had woken up in time.

I never have, and probably never will. I've never seen a film so horrid that I'd be willing to forfit my cash to avoid. Even stuff like The Avengers, Romeo Must Die, and The Scorpion King had their redeeming qualities...

Jason

I left after an hour of "The Medallion". I went to Grauman's Chinese Theater so the gave me my $20 back along with 15 other people. Thay said they had to deal with people walking out all day.

I've never walked out during the middle of a movie. However, the only movie that comes to mind that I should've was Willard. I like Crispin Glover but that movie was not my cup of tea.

By the way, one of my friends walked out during Dreamcatcher. He said he couldn't stand it. I've yet to see it, but from the reviews it doesn't sound as bad as people have made it out to be. I'll probably give this one a rental.

I've walked out of Coppola's Dracula, Pret a Porter, Single White Female, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Cool World, and I had to take a 15 minute break during The Matrix. And I got my money back for most of them.

I fell asleep during Daredevil, Batman and Robin and The Avengers.

I really wanted to walk out of The Matrix: Reloaded, but the theater was sold out and I was right in the middle, so I didn't wanna disturb anybody. Instead I sat there, shaking my head in disgust

Other then that, the last movie I wanted to walk out on was Jurassic Park 3.

Dean

Only walked out of: The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (20 minutes before the end, so I gave it a fair shot. )

Generally, my sense of curiosity will keep me watching. Also, I don't think I can fairly critique a film without watching every minute. There's usually a redeeming quality about every film.