Finally Saw This

Rating: 6/10 (23 October 2016)

Warning: Spoilers
So I finally watched this...I had been really hesitant because I loved the original by Katherine Bigelow and worried that if I watched it, it would ruin the original for me. It didn't. The good news is that it is basically a totally different storyline than the original and won't in any way, distract from re-watching the original. The bad news is it was a pretty horrible attempt at a re-boot.
1) The very premise of the original was that "Bodhi" was this incredibly charismatic guy, who "Utah" was "drawn" to because of that connection and was conflicted between his job and his feelings. None of that came through in the film, nor did the suspense. 2) Edgar Ramirez, who is a talented actor; but in this film, with this script, with this director, was flat and not in any way charismatic; which makes everything pseudo-unbelievable as far as Utah's draw to him. When Bodhi pulled out the "bro" finger pistol on the yacht ,I was almost done. If this is what writers and directors "think" an enlightened, spiritual man, and I've shared time with a few, act like, I'm both horrified and terrified...3) The premise is not bad, and the action sequences not horrible, but there's no passion in the acting or characters, as Bodhi would say..."No Beauty". 4) They would have been better off making this a "net new"....meaning, say, Bodhi's illegitimate son that he never knew being chased by an FBI agent; or Utah's son going after a new "spiritual seeker" as opposed to trying to force the characters and names from the original into the new one. It was more distracting than it was enticing or believable. Reboots are for James Bond, Star Wars and Batman, who have a long history of switching out the leads. This should have been a follow-on, not an attempted reboot. 5) Luke Bracey gives a pretty good performance. If the story said that it was "Johnny Utah's" son who took up extreme sports, it would be believable, and nothing he did pulled you out of the film, despite the occasional dumb lines in the script. 6) Delroy Lindo gives another good performance, although perfunctory enough to wonder if budget was an issue. He would have made a much better "older partner" than Ray Winsotne. How was that decision made???? Talented actor with history of similar roles gets banged to essentially a guest spot? I hope that was a scheduling issue, not an outright casting decision. The relationship between Utah and Pappas was the other key element missing. It was palpable in the original, completely missing in this one. 7) Teresa Palmer is charismatic as always and provides the only real surprise in the film....no not giving that spoiler away, but her character was good, even with the limited development in the script. 8) Scenery shots and action sequences were good and the basic premise, the Ozaki 8, was actually pretty clever if they had been executed well and the message was good and would resonate with a better script.
My2C Jen