Weakening The Strain...
Added 9/28/2009
The second attempt at bringing Michael Crichton's novel, "The Andromeda Strain", to the screen is an interesting conundrum to ponder - not in terms of the film itself, which is very bad - but in terms of the differences in tone between it and it's predecessor.
1971's original big-screen outing (directed by Robert Wise) was a weirdly compulsive tale of a group of predominantly white, predominately middle-aged and elderly research virologists doing battle with a mysterious extra-terrestrial virus inadvertently unleashed on a small Californian town by a downed Satellite. Set predominantly in a sealed underground research bunker which could be cauterized by a Nuclear blast should the threat of contamination become too great, the film boast a cast of virtual unknowns, a weirdly atonal electronic score by Gil Mellé, an uncomfortably claustrophobic, tense atmosphere and some splendid use of abstract shot-framing and split-screen. There was very little in the way of action, big explosions and histrionics and it remains a faithful adaptation of Crichton's book (which, if you've never read it, is one of his best and one of the most splendidly ominous and worryingly authentic first-contact novels ever written.)
This made for TV remake was apparently co-produced by Tony and Ridley Scott, but given it's tone and timbre, it might just as well have been produced by Michael Bay.
And I don't mean that as a compliment.
From the outset, the audience is beaten over the head with CGI and bombast; the research virologists are now all forty and under, impossibly good-looking and fit and of a racial mix hardly seen outside of Benetton commercials; Humvees seem to cram the frame every two minutes; gunfire and explosions break out with sporadic abandon and we are treated to more impassioned histrionics that one would generally expect to see in an episode of "The Bold And The Beautiful" - seriously, I kept waiting for Ridge to stagger through the bunker (which seems to be perpetually lit like the chill-out room of a nightclub) and demand to see Stephanie and Taylor.
Oh yeah, then there's the virus itself. It's no longer just an extra-terrestrial virus - now its also sentient, telepathic and has come through a wormhole from the future. Nanotechnology, which is fast acquiring the irritancy and, one assumes, will acquire the obsolescence factor that Virtual Reality helmets did in the nineties, also crops up *yawn*
There's also, wouldn't you know it, a big army conspiracy behind the whole thing which is hunting your obligatory drug-addled, wise-guy journalist (played by Eric McCormack from "Will And Grace" - who looks so out of place that I kept wishing that Jack McFarland would turn up and comfort him at his 'mannary'), a character that is completely extraneous in terms of the story.
There's also the worrying hint at the end that the producers may be contemplating a sequel.
In every way bigger, louder and brasher than it's predecessor, this film is also vastly dumber and more irritating. One day, maybe producers will realize that in the case of source material which is this good, you don't need extraneous trappings; just good actors, a decent script and a director who knows where to point a camera.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Horrible!
Added 8/21/2009
The 1971 film version of The Andromeda Strain is a classic. Done in a very scientific-medical fashion that lent it a feel of reality-docudrama more than a movie, the 1971 movie remains one of the best Michael Crichton movies ever done. This REmake is nothing of the sort. Horrible acting. Bad dialogue. And the "thumb scene" at the end was the bad icing on a very bad cake!
I am a huge fan of the original. Probably my single most watched movie ever! Absolutely fantastic in every way, and about as perfect a film as one can get.
The remake is the direct opposite! Avoid it like, well, the plague!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Were they thinking when doing that remake?
Added 8/1/2009
The film is on a banal, very banal subject : the invasion of the earth by some extraterrestrial civilization. In this case the interesting element is the method used to take over, and clean up the planet of the human race that is kind of in the way. They use the curiosity of this human race and infiltrate a satellite that is devised to capture living and unknown extraterrestrial organisms or substances. It does crop one substance hat is living but with no DNA. That substance will cause the satellite to crash back on the earth, without being in any way damaged, which is quite hard to believe today. This satellite will be recuperated by some people in a close-by city, opened and the substance will spread and kill everyone except an alcoholic who uses methylated spirit to satisfy his thirst and a new-born baby. The objective is to cause an overreaction among the human collective body called society and for them humans to try to destroy this invading substance with a nuclear missile. And that's the trick. This substance is fed by nuclear radiations or feeds on nuclear radiations. This fact is discovered by the scientists who are trying to understand the phenomenon, the counter order is given to the pilot delivering the missile and she turns back, but it is too late: the substance had already invaded the plane and it took control of it and the missile will eventually reach its target and humanity will be destroyed entirely. All that because of the human vain belief that one single invention, destructive substance or mechanism can be supreme and destroy everything, which is false, and we know it, since cockroaches for one are not at all disturbed in their very busy life by nuclear radiations. What is surprising is that this film, done for TV, should be so poor on the characters as if television did not have the means to hire good authors, directors and actors any more. Too bad, indeed.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, CEGID
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Arthur Hill vs. Benjamin Bratt? You do the math!
Added 7/14/2009
I am sick and tired of expecting what should be a well thought out, sharply scripted, well-acted, and entertaining foray into one of the great classics of hard science fiction only to be hit over the head with another "Save the environment" preachy film. When I want good preaching I attend church.
Save your money from this garbage and find a new copy of the "Super Friends", much more fun and entertaining.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
its made for tv quality
Added 7/11/2009
It could've worked but never lives up to much of anything.
The first half is actually pretty good. It begins with a disease that quickly killing humans, spreading, and adapting. At first the build up is great. By the time we get to the midway mark, the military is sending a bomb to kill it and its determined that it'll actually expand the problem. Of course, as any good sci-fi would do, it happens anyways. Cliffhanger for the second half! Not too bad.
The second half quickly dismisses any character development that was present in the first half, dismisses any development of conspiracy etc., and pretty much is quickly paced scenes attempting to tie up all of the story and end. In doing so it doesn't accomplish anything. The ends are tied by the story is left behind. The people become pawns set up to make the ends meet, and occasionally its so hastily pushed forward that it seems more like a practice run through than finished production. This is true in everything but the parts pertaining to the self destructing lab, which are overly drawn out and excruciatingly contrived.
In the end there is nothing surprising about this miniseries. Except maybe that Rick Schroder is still acting and is actually a stronger actor than much of the rest of the cast. Whatever excitement is created by the beginning is irreparably damaged by the end (ala Matrix). Its unfortunate.
A good rent for a lazy weekend at best, maybe.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
