Forget the politics: Sony Pictures was pretty much begging for someone to kill its 'desperately unfunny' comedy on the fictional assassination of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-Un.

Leaked emails reveal Sony executives were concerned about the action-comedy featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco — even before hackers believed to be 'state sponsored' by North Korea threatened the company and forced it to shut the movie down.

'The unanimous point of view here is that this (is) another misfire from the pairing,' said an e-mail purportedly written by Peter Taylor, of Sony Pictures UK.

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In leaked emails, Sony executives grumbled that 'The Interview' was a 'weak' movie easily considered 'another misifre' from comedy duo James Franco and Seth Rogen

James Franco's character... could have been appealing and funny out of his hands. Peter Taylor, Sony Pictures UK

Taylor added the movie was 'desperately unfunny and repetitive.'

He added: 'James Franco proves once again that irritation is his strong suit which is a shame because the character could have been appealing and funny out of his hands.'

Taylor and other executives agreed that the first half hour of the film, which features a satirical interview with hip-hop artist Eminem, was amusing but was later overshadowed by 'realistic violence that would be shocking in a horror movie'.

Staff in Holland said the film was 'unbalanced.'

A French executive said the film went too far.

'Seth Rogen's humor doesn't really translate,' the executive added.

'The Interview' was about a fictional assassination attempt on the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, whose government has been linked to the hackers who forced Sony to pull the movie

South Korean colleagues raised concerns over the potential political issues and inaccuracies in the North Korean accents used in the film, and said the leading actors were 'weak'.

Desperately unfunny and repetitive. Peter Taylor, Sony Pictures UK

Sony staff in Taiwan said the film 'didn't stand a chance' in their market, according to the e-mails.

The only division of Sony that seemed to enjoy the film was in Australia, where executives enjoyed the film and requested lead actor Franco lead a promotional tour of the country.

British executives were less enthusiastic.

'Tour-wise, our choice would be to have no one. However if this is not an option (and I suspect it isn't) then we would like the lot,' Taylor said.