Review of 13 (2010) by Aman V — 27 Jan 2013

I did a dumb thing. I watched the remake of 13 Tzameti first before seeing the original. I regretted it soon after it was over and even more after I saw the original. The original was beautiful. Shot in Black and White on a minimal budget with some intense moments that revolve around a game of Russian Roulette. The top notch direction from the original is simply lost in the remake. It's very strange too because the original director, Gela Babluani, also directed the remake. You'd think the same guy who is remaking his own movie would at least provide the same magic from his previous version of the same material. Instead, he changes too much of it.

The basic set up is just like the original film. Instead of a young man fixing some dope addicts roof, he's made as an electrician here. He's still struggling to support his poor family and sees a job opportunity when the dope addict suddenly overdoses. He takes the envelope the dope addict had which included a train ticket and some cash. He heads on his way to an unknown location where he's about to partake in a deadly game.

I loved the original film. Like I mentioned it was top notch all the way. The remake, however, was poorly done and lazy. First off, it's shot in color, in English (for the American audience) and deals heavily with exposition (y'know, telling the audience a character or characters motivation as to what the fuck they're doing in this situation). That wasn't needed for the other characters in the original film because WE DO NOT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER CHARACTERS! Why change it? Like, do I really need to know why Mickey Rourke's character is there to begin with? Or even understand the relationship between the two brothers who are there (one is involved in the game and the other is betting) any better? NO! They're pawns in a cruel, sadistic game. Fuck them! It's the game itself that is made to be the more tantalizing element than any of the characters involved. They knew what they were getting into (except for the protagonist of course).

You might look at the cast of this film and think AWESOME, but they're really phoning it in. Mickey Rourke especially and 50 Cent? Really? The only actor I did like seeing in the film was Michael Shannon. He has a small part, but played it well as the game announcer who tells the men what to do like load the chamber of their guns, spin the cylinder, point and wait for the light to switch on and then................SHOOT!

POW!....DEAD.

Overall, watch this if you only want to compare notes between the two films, but really, c'mon, just watch the original. It's so much better and more intense than this slapdash remake.