even if you don't like it, you'll be mesmerized

Rating: 6/10 (24 April 2007)

This is one of those movies that even if you aren't a die hard fan of it, you'll still find it hard to turn away from. It is hard macho action and hard macho science fiction, and it does Carpenter a lot of justice I dare say. The old version of the Thing had an appeal to it, but so does this one. And this one I dare say has a lot of grit and excitement to it. The premise is an isolated Arcitc (or is it Antarctic? Who cares)) science team finds a frozen alien and inadvertently bring it back to life. In this version the "Thing" is very high on the evolutionary scale, and very tough to deal with. Each cell can act on its own, but also must respond to the other cells. I know it doesn't make sense, but it makes for one *$#* of an adversary you don't want to tangle with. It eats you and then copies your DNA so that it becomes an exact replica of you with even your memories. How can you beat something like that? Well, Kurt Russell finds a why. He drinks vodka at it! And then he gets flame throwing units to burn it. But which people are real and which are "things"? You see the dilemma. And the script plays it for all its worth, and I dare say it plays it very well. An exciting thrill ride. The characters ring fairly true, and Carpenter, as usual, does his characters much better than most directors. I could nit pick at one flaw. It didn't ring true when a certain character froze and refused to burn up a thing, who even in human form was abusive toward s him. There's my one nit pick. Not bad for over a dozen characters in a full length film. If only other directors and writers could keep it down to one nit pick. There is a question at the end, as to whether one of the survivors might be a "thing." A good ambiguous ending, and enhanced by good selection of music. I think the sound effects unit deserves much praise for this film. The first time I watched it, and I've reinforced that opinion over later watchings, I thought the vodka drank by the characters at the end proved they weren't things, since alcohol kills individual cells, and the "thing" would not be able to tolerate it. Indeed, I believe the alien had to have a stronger weakness than just fire, or it would have taken over much easier. It did have to choose hosts that were alcohol free, because since it couldn't drink liquor, it might be found it too easily. And yes, there are no women in this movie. Which makes you feel like your watching an old war movie. Must say it is very exciting, and very mesmerizing.