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The Omen... ...biggest Tuesday opening ever!?!?!?!

#1 User is offline   Jedi_Arco Icon

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Posted 07 June 2006 - 11:04 PM

Just heard the news that the Omen is now the record holder for largest Tuesday opening ever! Now, I am in the middle of doing a review for this.. ah screw it, I'll just post it. It's nowhere nearly as large as the X-Men one. biggrin.gif

Okay, so I have seen the original but it's been awhile. But I can tell you this: if you've seen the original, it's not worth seeing this. The classic film is much better than this remake. If you haven't seen the classic, go rent it! It's a better movie.

My biggest problem with this remake is that it's almost a carbon copy of the original. It's walking that fine line set down by the Psycho remake from a few years back. The one that was done shot for shot, scene for scene, line for line, and even had the director make a cameo in the same scene as Alfred Hitchcock himself. The Omen was very close to doing that. Sure, the settings were larger, the technology newer, and alot more of the steady-cam and blurry action set pieces that so many Hollywood directors feel the need to include in pictures today are present.

The direction was just okay for me. Too many static camera shots; too much steady cam. This is a classic form of horror where it's all story and character driven, it's not a bunch of kids running scared with a maniac chasing them down. The idea is supposed to scare us, not the quick camera. I'm not saying there weren't some scary moments, there were. I actually jumped once or twice. blush.gif

The deaths are straight out of the original, so if you've seen it there's nothing new here. Nanny hangs herself at the birthday party; priest is killed by a pipe from the top of the church; photographer turned ally is decapitated.. however, the decapitation in the original looks SO MUCH BETTER in the original than this one! Give me good 'ol fashioned fx over the new digital stuff today.

The cast is just okay for me, which is unfortunate because I like the entire cast. I have to blame the director for this because these actors are usually so much better. Liev Schreiber is one of the best male leads in Hollywood right now, but he never exudes that stern and hard hero that Gregory Peck did in the same role 30 years ago. And poor Julia Stiles. She is usually such a strong actress, and she just came off so bad in this for me. The only really stand out roles are Pete Postlethwaite as the Priest that tries to help Liev's character and Michael Gambon as the crazy priest near the end. Dumbledore totally got the shaft! Mia Farrow is great too as the evil nanny, but she's not in it enough to save it for me.

And the kid.... didn't like him at all. He walks around the whole movie with the same stupid look on his face, which I guess is supposed to come off as creepy, but just feels dumb. I mean, it's not scary if he does it through the whole damn film! Again, I blame the director, not the actor.

Overall, it was just okay. If you really want to see it I won't say don't go. It's a film to see if you really want to see something at the theatre. If you just want to see The Omen and have a good scare, rent the original!! It's a better film, and you can own it for a little more than the price of an admission ticket to the new one, and watch it as many times as your heart desires.

Bottom line: Buy or rent the original. Better cast; better director; better creepy kid. If you just have to see a movie in the theatre, and you can't wait for Cars (a movie that will be the biggest box office money maker of the summer, mark my words) then go ahead and check this out. Just be ready to twist in your seat a couple times because it does drag in spots.

I have to give The Omen 2006 a 6.5 out of 10. Not great, but not horrible.
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#2 User is offline   Despondent Icon

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Posted 08 June 2006 - 01:18 AM

QUOTE (Jedi_Arco @ Jun 7 2006, 11:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I have to give The Omen 2006 a 6.5 out of 10. Not great, but not horrible.
Couldn't give it another .16?
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#3 User is offline   Jane Sherwood Icon

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Posted 08 June 2006 - 08:44 PM

I tried to go rent the original after reading so many reviews saying the remake was total crap, but the video store didn't even carry one single copy (well that just ruined 6/6/06 for me...).



(By the way, my bet's on PotC 2 as the money-maker. Never doubt the power of an awesome pirate movie with a massive fangirl following.)
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#4 User is offline   Deepsycher Icon

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Posted 08 June 2006 - 09:30 PM

I have seen the Omen. I like the bit when the man couldn't get into the church and a pole struck him through the head.
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#5 User is offline   Supes Icon

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Posted 09 June 2006 - 01:58 AM

It's been a few years since I've seen the original but I thought the guy was skewered through the chest and pinned upright to the ground.
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#6 User is offline   Jedi_Arco Icon

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Posted 09 June 2006 - 02:37 AM

Head... Chest... Basically the same region. All the deaths are identical to the original. The decapitation in the original is better than the cg fest in the new one. I really don't understand this need to re-make great films like this. Is Hollywood really that out of ideas? I mean, if you're going to do this, why not try and do something different instead of making, basically, a carbon copy of a better film? Although, now I hear that Rob Zombie is doing the next Halloween, but it's not a sequel! He's giving us the new "buzz" word in Hollywood: a RE-IMAGINING! Oh goody! I'm torn, because at least they're not doing a re-make; but I am worried that this new interpretation is going to be total shite.

And, since Despondent pointed it out so nicely, I hereby amend my previous rating for The Omen 2006, and give it 6.66 out of 10. biggrin.gif It's more appropriate I suppose anyway.
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#7 User is offline   Deepsycher Icon

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Posted 09 June 2006 - 06:37 AM

That is an issue of mine I cannot remember accurately. I will have to watch it again to confirm.
Through the chest, that maybe good for more pain.
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