Enjoyable up to a point, but not a masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2005)

Because it has been so many years since I experienced any of the older versions of this story, I did not feel overly compelled to compare. Therefore, I looked at this film on its own merits.
From that viewpoint, this film did an adequate job of entertaining, though something clearly was missing, but I struggle to exactly put a finger on exactly what that is.
The acting was reasonably good, though a little shaky at times. The story moves along apace, and few scenes feel drawn out or unnecessary. Visually the film is very engaging. For reasons that are apparent once you have experienced the two, I found the visuals to be greatly reminiscent of the video game 'Half-Life 2'.
I think if anything, the disappointment comes in the lack of a build up to the climax. I don't begrudge that the writers chose adhere to the basic structure of the established story (I guess that's what makes it a remake), but I did feel that it was not executed in a way that provided a release of built up tension that should have been the big payoff for sitting in a cinema seat for two hours.
As well as the obvious sci-fi theme, this film also has strong elements of the horror genre. If, like me, you have a soft spot for both these kinds of stories, then you'll probably enjoy this film. But if you can take or leave films from either of these genres, then this film is marginal enough that I don't recommend it to you.