Critics have already seen Terrence Malick’s ‘The New World’ and it’s even being released in theaters for a limited engagement this Sunday. But according to Malick, it isn’t finished! He’s told Variety that he’s going to recut the film, trimming 15-20 minutes off its ponderous running time.

Is this in response to the scathing criticism from reviewers regarding its tedious pace and ridiculous length? Almost certainly. New Line has read the reviews, even if you haven’t. Most critics, including myself, aren’t allowed to publish their reviews until December 25th.

I’ve seen it and while I can’t review it, I can tell you that while shortening it won’t fix the movie, it’ll definitely help. Its length is almost unbearable.

So you’re probably wonderings, why release it at all? Why not just pull it off its release date, redo it, and release a version that doesn’t suck? Malick and New Line are desperate for some awards attention, and in order to qualify for the Oscars they have to have it out before 2006. They’re out of time and so they’re releasing it as is in a few theaters. Next year, when the movie goes wider, they’ll show audiences the shorter (hopefully better) version.

Here’s my prediction: It’ll still be bad.