Nearly a great film

Rating: 7/10 (25 July 2014)

An interesting combination of top notch Hollywood movie and low-grade B-movie. Segments of considerable suspense, but with the suspense disappointingly released far too easily at the end. Great, convincing special effects but wildly over-used. Fine actors, acting well, but little characterization in the script. Large budget spent on creating a highly believable antarctic environment, but then glaring lapses allowed. For example, one character says something like "Are you crazy? Go out in these 35 knot winds?", and in the next shot, the helicopter is flying through a beautiful clear sunny sky with not a cloud moving. They get out of the chopper and MacReady keeps his hat on easily and not a lock of his flowing mane moves. Or to take another example, as some characters go from one part of the station to another, they cling to a guide rope as if their life depended on it, but there is plenty of light to see by and only signs of a light breeze. Why not just walk calmly to their destination? Very puzzling.
It felt like a fine effort, but by a director who had a little difficulty shaking off some of his low budget background.