Review of 13 (2010) by Nathan J — 15 Jan 2011

Another 13 Tzameti remake, this one having the advantage of being by the director. (That was a joke.) The palette of `70s gold, wheat and excrement gives a nice feeling of inertia and despair and helps to establish context. Casting is largely great, although the loss of the director's brother as protagonist seems a gap that Riley struggles to fill. Rourke's character lends a little bit more of a class context, although the conjunto accordion trills accompanying his glee seemed a bit much even for him.

Statham and Winstone make a fine (des)pair, and Michael Shannon does some excellent looming. David Zayas and Gazzara are also highly enjoyable authority figures, even Curtis Jackson is alright. The original is shifted to the US well and despite the inflated budget the money seems well spent. But the affair as a whole is largely an unnecessary exercise. A remake, like recent others, less dumbed down for the American market but no less superfluous.