AlfieSGD

5/10

In 2007, another remake of the “Body Snatcher” films was still rather unnecessary. And although this fourth film adaptation only loosely adheres to the original, it is essentially the same story all over again. But that certainly wouldn't be a problem if the end result had at least been an entertaining movie. But it isn't, because in too many places wrong decisions were made. Among other things, the movie just doesn't look good. The color grading doesn't do the whole thing any favors, and the camera is far too shaky for my taste. There's never really any tension either, which is mainly due to the strange pacing. On the one hand, it's a pretty slow movie, while on the other, there are repeated attempts to increase the pace with explosions and hazy action. The editing is also a mess. You can really tell that they tried to make massive changes later on. At least the actors are not a problem for the movie. Nicole Kidman does a decent job overall, and there's at least not much negative to say about the rest of the cast, even if no one really stands out in a positive way. Accordingly, these actors can't add much value to the movie. Whether it was a disaster from the start or only lost any identity due to studio influence and changes through reshoots, I don't know. Either way, the end result is not worth a recommendation.

wolfkin

8/10

I mean what's not to love. Nicole Kidman is as pretty in the face as her body is average. Daniel Craig is barely recognizable. Like his makeup and hair people wanted to make him just a little schlubby but didn't consider that maybe people might want to recognize him. But 2007 was a magical time it's possible and likely this was filmed before Casino Royale really introduced North America to Craig. Jeffrey Wright is a bit underutilized but in 2007 when wasn't he. Jackson Bond as the child Oliver fades in to the background which for a child is amazing. Child actors are at they're worse when they're distractingly bad but Jackson isn't. I find Oliver as a character annoying but that's how he's written not because Jackson is annoying. The tension in this movie is just great. The editing could have been smoother I don't remember it being so jarring when I saw it in theatres. The movie even does a mostly decent job of presenting a plausible narrative although you could write a graduate thesis about a movie where everyone gets taken down except Nicole Kidman. Twice two black dudes give her the survival game. Three is you count the fact that Wright's Stephen Galeano is the one who break down that sleeping triggers the change. But it's fine. It mostly flows pretty well.