By accident on Saturday and Sunday I found myself watching favourite films that had been remade, it turned into remake weekend. On Saturday it was The Wicker Man. I have watched the original many times and it stands up to many viewings. It is a wonderful film. The remake was not required and I had resisted watching it. The high spots were Nicholas Cage a fine actor, although miscast in this film and out of curiosity spotting how bits of the original had been reinterpreted. The special effects were impressive, but overall the film felt hollow, it didn’t have the soul of the original.
The lack of soul was similarly evident in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Again it was a case of despite the impressive special effects the magic of the film was missing. The title of the film signposts the most important aspect of the film, but in the remake this is tacked on the end as an afterthought. It was a pleasant way to pass a Sunday evening, but I would have preferred to have watched the original.