The original was better. *MINOR SPOILERS*

Rating: 4/10 (8 June 2002)

The original version of the film, made in Norway, was far better than this version. The original was easy for Norway to do, Much of the country is north of the Arctic circle with larger towns there (It was filmed in Tromsø, the worlds most populated town north of the Arctic Circle) but for an American film, the only place in the US to do a film would be Alaska where the areas north of the Arctic circle are sparsely populated.
The choice of actors was also poor. Honestly, can we see Robin Williams, a comic actor playing the role of a killer? Not me. The American version was too "Hollywoodized". Al Pacino tries to make it look good, but I strongly recommend the original. I was lucky enough to have first seen the original almost 2 years ago. I have seen it several times since. Comparing it to the new one. I think they tried to copy the original too meticulously.

*BEGIN SPOILER*
Some scenes in both versions were virtually identical. Dormer/Engström taping the window shades down in a futile attempt to stop the midnight sunlight from keeping him awake. Dormer/Engström vomiting in guilt in an alley after accidently killing his partner, the killer escaping through a tunnel underneath the shed.
Some scenes were slightly changed to seem more action oriented and less suspenseful. In the scene by the shed, the original had the killer alerted to the presence of the police by the sound a thermos breaking. In the new version, we see a thermos but the killer is alerted due to a policeman's megaphone accidently being turned on.
*END SPOILER*
I give the effort a plus, but the end result is a poor remake of an excellent Norwegian film.