This years Oscars verdict? Predictable

It was probably inevitable from the moment Brett Ratner forced the Academy into 'playing it safe' with Billy Crystal, but this year's verdict from the blogosphere is that people are bored of the Oscars.

Sacha Baron Cohen might have warmed everyone up with his red carpet antics, but the rest of the night didn't do much to impress.

Over at The Week, they called this year's ceremony "the most predictable ever", a view echoed by FilmNav and the US Metro, which added "obvious winners" to its damning verdict of a "predictable show".

[Related gallery: All the red carpet photos from this year's Oscars]

On Twitter, Slash Film's Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) commented: "Predictable… okay, lets move on. #oscars"

A view echoed by a torrent of tweeters:

Kevin Knapman (@kevinknapman): "Well that was anticlimactic and entirely predictable. Now for some sleep. Thank god #Oscars2012"

Telegraph critic Robbie Collin (@robbiereviews): "This is the biggest upset of the night!!!! (I just spilled my cup of tea)"

Steve Griffith (@sgso2010): "Most predictable Oscars ever.. Thank god Sacha Baron Cohen gave some comedic relief on red carpet - Kim Jong Il, u made it to the Oscars!"

Jeffrey K. Rohrs (@jkrohrs):  "And #Oscars 2012 ends as it began--giving awards to movies about movies. #Predictable"

Droo Padhiar (@DrooPadhiar): "Hurry up and say THE ARTIST, Tom Cruise, so we can all go to bed #oscars"

Although not everyone was so bothered by the predictability. Philip Concannon (@phil_on_film) summed up a lot of people's opinions when he tweeted:

"Billy is pulling out a lot of familiar, predictable gags, but they work for me. I've laughed a lot tonight. He's great at this. #Oscars"

But perhaps the events are probably best summarised by Best Actress winner Meryl Streep, who trumped popular favourite Viola Davis ('The Help') for her turn as Maggie Thatcher:

"When they called my name I had this feeling I could hear half of America going, 'Ah, no ... Why her, again?' But, whatever."

Exactly.