Comments on: The Thing (2011) – Movie Review – Limp Remake Imitating Prequel /entertainment/2011/10/the-thing-2011-movie-review-limp-remake-imitating-prequel/ Sat, 15 Jul 2017 19:01:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Anonymous /entertainment/2011/10/the-thing-2011-movie-review-limp-remake-imitating-prequel/#comment-3366 Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:46:00 +0000 /?p=7547&post_type=entertainment#comment-3366 I don’t buy the excuse that ‘there’s only so much to do out there’. Note. For. Note. Remake. When they started dousing the thing’s corpse with kerosene in the yard and snow was being pressed up against it, then they suggest a test to see if they’re still human… I almost lost it. The parts where it does apply a little imagination are the most contrived and out-of-place bits, like in the ship.

Bad film.

]]> By: A comment /entertainment/2011/10/the-thing-2011-movie-review-limp-remake-imitating-prequel/#comment-3362 Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:35:00 +0000 /?p=7547&post_type=entertainment#comment-3362 I know that at times this movie may feel like a remake, even though you acknowledged that it is a prequel, but it most assuredly is not a remake of anything. The director made sure, with the materials given from the 1982 movie, to include elements observed from John Carpenter’s movie as a nod-off to that film, and to connect them in continuity. Frankly, I think there is only so much one can do in the isolated-antarctic-base-psychological-terror department, which indeed limits the feel of this movie to that of the 1982 movie (and leads one to conclude that it is a contrivance); but that doesn’t mean that the base-formula of the Thing antagonist isn’t a great one to expand and play around with. Especially in a different setting with different characters.

Yes, it would have done better with less jump-scares, and more protracted scenes that add to the feelings of isolation, claustrophobia, suspense and distrust. It seemed like whenever there where such opportunities for these scenes, they didn’t last for very long, or weren’t used in such a way that they drove the plot. The jumps seemed to just keep coming and coming, like the energy of one jump drove the plot to the next jump. That is the only issue. Say what you will about the effects…

Although the third act may turn the die-hard fans bonkers, I think it had a solid, second act. I think we all know that the act-structure of the 1982 version is pretty much golden, and any attempt to reproduce  it will be considered cliche; parts the second act in this movie had great tension, and genuinely had me guessing at the edge of my seat. The first act was a little too predictable for my tastes…

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