Spiritual growth and a lack of growth in relevant use of action

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2016)

I have seen the 1991 version a couple of times because I love it! When I was watching the beginning of the 2015 version I was surprised by the bad reviews. I had read those before I finally decided to see the 2015 version anyway ...
GREAT how Bodhi and his team made their statement to society by their thrilling robberies. BUT, after those robberies the amount of "irrelevant" action gets out of balance with the story. Although the action is astonishing I was glad that I remembered the story of the 1991 version because otherwise I might have been lost. At that point the 2015 version felt like watching a movie based on a book that I read before watching the movie; that can be pretty disappointing. Overall the 2015 version lacked the feeling that I have when I watch the 1991 version.
BUT (again) ... the 2015 version is significantly different! We're almost 25 years ahead of the 1991 version and times have changed. The 2015 version is more bombastic and even more sentimental. It becomes shallow due to the amount of irrelevant action scenes. STILL, the story of the 2015 version actually has more depth than the 1991 version. The story of the 1991 version is actually a bit shallow; it's about a couple of guys living it up, and stealing from banks to finance their fun (and some spirituality). The banks get paid by the insurance companies and nobody gets hurt and in a way "everybody" seems to win. This is typical for the beginning of the nineties. However, simply "living it up by stealing" doesn't suffice anymore. We really DO need to care about nature and our environment! Bodhi was inspired by his spiritual leader to do so. And with that in mind it explains why he's more serious and grim than the 1991 Bodhi. SUPER!
At home I watched the 1991 version again and I must say that the quality of the way the story is presented is more appealing to me. Possibly it's my age and because I cannot get into the use of social media such as twitter and Facebook. The 1991 version tells a story by the dialogues between people. The 2015 version provides an impression of a story by TWEETS between allegories.
All in all I do recommend to see the 2015 version, especially when you've seen the 1991 version. It's a roller-coaster and the essence of the story of the 2015 version is actually a lot better. It shows spiritual growth on one hand and on the other hand, a lack of growth in relevant use of action.
And again ... the action is fantastic!