Critics target Gone with the Bullets

Critics, filmgoers' reviews and cinema attendance have shot holes in projections that Gone With the Bullets would be the highest-grossing film in China's box-office history.

Viewers are polarized, and the debate has perhaps lasted longer than any other about a film in the country's history. Social media has continued buzzing since the film's Dec 15 premiere.

Filmmaker Wu Zhishuo's microblog rebuke is probably the harshest and most frequently retweeted comment: "Except for the soundtrack, nothing is right. With inflated self-confidence, (director and lead actor) Jiang Wen doesn't consider audiences. He's made a narcissistic, psychopathic and individualist work."