If there’s one good thing that will come from this, it’s that no producer in his right mind will go through with an actual MacGyver movie after audiences suffer through the SNL-based parody MacGruber. Sadly, New Line has been developing an adaptation of the action series for a 2011 release, but the comedic knock-off is set to begin shooting next month and will likely arrive in theaters sometime in 2010. Many people would probably prefer the “real deal” version, so maybe my silver lining isn’t theirs. But I’ve actually never seen MacGyver nor the spoof sketches starring Will Forte, so I don’t really care which movie is made or which is better or which is more successful.

Honestly, I haven’t been interested in anything adapted from an SNL character since the disappointing Coneheads, so I was perfectly happy to ignore the announcement of a MacGruber movie altogether. However, it seems to be striking a nerve with the rest of the film blog community today.  So I present you with their mostly negative reactions after the jump:

• Jenni Miller at Cinematical recognizes the worthlessness of these SNL movies to a castmember’s career:
  

  While many writers and actors have gotten their start on SNL, very few of the skits themselves have translated successfully to the big screen. Will Ferrell was able to shake off the stench of A Night at the Roxbury well enough to make a slew of really funny movies and is now also writing and exec producing

• Steven Zeitchik at Risky Biz Blog recognizes the intelligence behind the greenlighting of this project:
  

  But though the skit savvily plays on nostalgia, it’s hardly a remake, nor does it rely lazily on brand association; when you watch the bits (you can find one here ) the cleverness hits you whether or not you’ve seen the original.

  That these sketches gained added currency after they went viral is a good sign. The Web component shows that movie execs finally seem to get what their television counterparts have understood for years: that it’s far smarter to try to take advantage of what people are watching on their computers instead of the alternative, crossing your arms and saying you work in a different medium.

• Chris Hewitt at Empire focuses on the stretching of the joke:
  

  Sounds formulaic, and you’d be right. But Forte, who co-writes the skits with The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone, who also directs, has kept the joke alive brilliantly, introducing an increasingly tortured back-story for MacGruber (he’s an alcoholic financial failure with daddy issues, a gay son… and he can shoot ping pong balls out of his butt).

  Of course, the sketch premise won’t stretch out to a full-length film, so Forte and Taccone – who’s also directing the movie – have gone for a plot that sounds like a parody of Rambo, Commando and even The Expendables.

• Nathan Rabin at A.V. Club may actually be looking forward to this:
  

  Being fans of Forte, The Lonely Island and the character we’re cautiously optimistic. Besides, if movies like Superstar and It’s Pat: The Movie have taught us anything, it’s that if an idea is funny in bite-sized chunks, it’s gut-bustingly hilarious when lovingly extended to ninety minutes.

• Bryan Kremkau at ReadJunk is definitely excited about this:
  

  I knew it was only a matter of time that Will Forte’s MacGyver spoof MacGruber would be turned into a movie! It’s probably the funniest sketch on SNL these days. I seriously can’t wait for this movie because I think it’s going to be a smash hit! That is, if the script and acting is up to par. I mean, anything can be better than Ladies Man and Superstar.

• Neil Miller at Film School Rejects is also optimistic given who’s directing the thing:
  

  Fact: Taken at face value, this MacGruber movie is an awful idea — pure, unadulterated awful. It is a mediocre sketch that someone (Lorne Michaels) thinks could be fodder for a full-length feature. The last time this happened, we got Night at the Roxbury.

  But despite reason and logic, it would appear as if the SNL crew is moving forward with the adaptation, which will begin shooting in New Mexico next month. The film’s saving grace is that it has at its disposal the directorial talents of Jorma Taccone

• Alex Billington at First Showing acknowledges the redundancy of a MacGyver movie after this, but he’s on the fence about it anyway:
  

  Screw the actual MacGuyver movie, this is all we need!…I don’t watch SNL anymore, so I’m not too familiar with MacGruber, but it sounds like it could be fun. The last SNL-ish movies we were Hot Rod and Baby Mama, but neither of those did well or were that great. I expect this MacGruber movie to get a lot of buzz, but as for if it’ll actually be any good, it’s too early to tell.

• Rodney at The Movie Blog wonders if we’ll end up with two faithful MacGyver movies:
  

  So the questions that arise in my head are this. Will this simply evolve the MacGruber character (who usually ended up killing everyone in the sketch with his failed attempts to jury rig some device) or will this be more of a spoof on MacGyver?

  Somehow I think it will be both. The logic circles this presents are giving me a headache. Will this spoof MacGruber spoofing MacGyver? Will this be a double negative and cancel out the spoofing and simply offer up a straight MacGyver movie?

• Kevin Coll at Fused Film points out that in normal parody circumstances, there’d at least be a cameo from the real MacGyver:
  

  Sounds a lot like Ace Ventura meets Austin Powers by way of MacGuyver. I do not watch SNL but have seen these skits and they are funny. The skit has somewhat of a cult following with a Super Bowl Pepsi commercial using the MacGruber skit to sell their product. I wonder if Richard Dean Anderson will cameo in the film?

• Elisabeth Rappe at MTV Movies Blog is certain Anderson will show up in some capacity:
  

  Surely an appearance by Richard Dean Anderson, the one and only MacGuyver, is in the cards? After all, one MacGruber sketch revealed the elder TV action hero to be his absentee father, a plot point that is just begging to be explored further.

• Dustin Rowles at Pajiba addresses the casting of Val Kilmer and Ryan Phillippe in supporting roles:
  

  And this baby is not going to be just another dog-and-pony show with a bunch of SNL actors littering the screen. They’ve gotten actual actors to star in it. Washed up actors, but still. Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer are going to drive the nail through the coffin and into the back of the head of their careers by showing up in it.

• Josh Tyler at Cinema Blend notes another actor who needs to sign on:
  

  Clearly this is going to be more than just the usual shitty SNL movie. This is not Night at the Roxbury…Sounds great, the only thing missing is a variety of mid-life crises to distract MacGruber from disarming various bombs. Someone needs call up Shia LaBeouf, bring him back as MacGruber’s gay son.

• Dan Hopper at Best Week Ever goes for the obvious jab at SNL producer Lorne Michaels:
  

  Ryan Phillippe and Val Kilmer are in talks to co-star in a MacGruber feature film, based on the recurring Will Forte SNL sketches. And if there’s one thing I trust Lorne Michaels to do, it’s taking a funny five minute joke and extending it to a very necessary hour and a half.

• Mark at I Watch Stuff figures SNL producer Lorne Michaels is in need of some pocket money:
  

  Looks like Lorne Michaels still has his summer job stretching mediocre three-minute sketches into full-length films of dubious quality…With an actual MacGyver film also in the works, it looks like studios are feeling the recession and turning to an obvious, foolproof moneymaker: imitations of Richard Dean Anderson. Stargate: The TV Show: The Movie Again can’t be far behind.

• Vince Mancini at Film Drunk believes co-star Val Kilmer is in need of even less:
  

  On being asked if he’d play the part of Cunth, Kilmer said, “Lunch?”

  AGENT: “No, Cunth.”

  KILMER: “Lunch?”

  *agent slides sandwich across table*

  KILMER: “That’s what I thought.”