IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

Howard-Smith wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 3:46 pm One comment on this film that irritated me was that it “didn’t feel original” when in fact it was a totally original piece of writing by my friend Chris Davies.

This is inevitable. Just because something has been written from scratch, that doesn't mean it necessarily feels original. There are only a limited number of plots available (the number varies depending on which academic you read) and how original something feels depends on whether the viewer has seen a similar treatment before.
It's a bit of a lazy line in a critique though. It would have been more useful if the writer could have said what it remined them of, then you'd have had a better understanding of why it "didn't feel original".