One of the Few Remakes to Be as Good as the Original

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2008)

This is one of the few remakes that is just as good as the original. I only had one qualm. It was that Wade was less menacing this time, due to the fact that he kept trying to escape. In the original it's more chilling because he never once try's to run. He just waits. The ending is also not as good as the original, but it worked. Before this film I never thought much of Mangold as a director. Walk the Line was pretty good, but the direction was the worst part of the picture. Here it is the best. He carry's the film, makes it wonderful. It's him that makes it as good as it is, the other great things just help. He points the camera directly where it should be, and with the right angle. He creates a nerve wracking mood. He has no chance at Oscar attention, but he deserves it. The performances are fantastic as well. The two leads are Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Crowe is fine as a semi psychopath. He is chilling, and it's his best work since the beginning of the decade. Bale is better though in Van Heflins roll. He is the most likable character in the film, and the best drawn. This helps Bale, but the character wouldn't have worked if played as it should have. Bale changes the character that's on the page, into something else. By the end he is less likable, and more relatable than I would have guessed. The supporting performances are also fine. Ben Foster in particular was brilliant. He was truly scary, and completely believable. I also really liked Peter Fonda as the aging hit-man who was a sort of psychopath himself. The cinematography was also very impressive, as was the score. Both are Oscar worthy in my opinion. The script was great, and much more realistic and heartfelt than I expected. All in all this is a very underrated film, and one of the best of the year. A masterpiece in everyway. I really enjoyed it as entertainment, and it also managed to be a work of art.