I saw THE THING (2011). Actually, I was dragged to the theater to see it (I didn't want to). My brother, a friend, and I are big fans of John Carpenter's version (1982). They were all excited but I was not. I had my concerns about the movie. Well, I can acutally say that the movie was OK. I won't go as far as to say good or great, just OK.
This movie is not a remake of the 1982 version. It is a prequel to that movie. Thus, my concern was that right off the bat it sounds like the most pointless movie to be made, and I can say that without even hearing a brief summary of any proposed script. My reason is simple, we already know what happens to the Norwegian camp. Everything that happens in the American camp ... is exactly what happened in the Norwegian camp. Thus, I don't need a prequel to actually play it out.
Now that I have seen the prequel, my analysis proved correct. It is practically the same movie. Both versions share the same tension, same psychology, same tactics for survival, etc. The only difference is that the 1982 version handles the tesnsion better. When you have a prequel the idea is that you can watch the movies in the story's chronological order. For example, you could watch all the episodes of STAR WARS in order (I, II, III, IV, V, and VI). Pretty soon we'll be able to watch THE HOBBIT and then watch THE LORD OF THE RINGS right afterwards. You can't do that with these two movies. It'll feel like you are watching an encore presentation.
Lastly, the CGI effects do not add to the movie. Rob Bottin's work in the 1982 version still stands up to this day. OK, to be fair the CGI works when it is little things that scurry around and such. Scenes like that in the 2011 version are better than the 1982 version. However, when the time comes to see a thing on the table or in action, the models that Bottin created are so much more believeable and terrifying than what the CGI effects offered.
Having said all that, the movie was OK. If you have never seen the 1982 version and are thinking about watching the 2011 version, please please please, watch the 1982 version instead.
This movie is not a remake of the 1982 version. It is a prequel to that movie. Thus, my concern was that right off the bat it sounds like the most pointless movie to be made, and I can say that without even hearing a brief summary of any proposed script. My reason is simple, we already know what happens to the Norwegian camp. Everything that happens in the American camp ... is exactly what happened in the Norwegian camp. Thus, I don't need a prequel to actually play it out.
Now that I have seen the prequel, my analysis proved correct. It is practically the same movie. Both versions share the same tension, same psychology, same tactics for survival, etc. The only difference is that the 1982 version handles the tesnsion better. When you have a prequel the idea is that you can watch the movies in the story's chronological order. For example, you could watch all the episodes of STAR WARS in order (I, II, III, IV, V, and VI). Pretty soon we'll be able to watch THE HOBBIT and then watch THE LORD OF THE RINGS right afterwards. You can't do that with these two movies. It'll feel like you are watching an encore presentation.
Lastly, the CGI effects do not add to the movie. Rob Bottin's work in the 1982 version still stands up to this day. OK, to be fair the CGI works when it is little things that scurry around and such. Scenes like that in the 2011 version are better than the 1982 version. However, when the time comes to see a thing on the table or in action, the models that Bottin created are so much more believeable and terrifying than what the CGI effects offered.
Having said all that, the movie was OK. If you have never seen the 1982 version and are thinking about watching the 2011 version, please please please, watch the 1982 version instead.
