Review of Let Me In (2010) by Jessetaylor25 — 08 Apr 2011
Okay, I'm not going to beat around the bush; "Let Me In" is definitely not as good as "Let the Right One In". The original Swedish film is one of the best films of the aughts, but surprisingly, this American remake was solid and sometimes even had original ideas and a voice of its own.
Director Matt Reeves has said that he adapted the story from the original novel only. This just can't be true because so much of his film is shot-for-shot replicated from the original film; the music, the cinematography, even some of the dialogue delivery.
Anyway, that's not the point. "Let Me In" is a rare successful remake whose slight changes make the film stand as its own great work. The most noticeable alteration is how Reeves sets the movie in 1980s, Reagan-controlled America.
From the music to the TV broadcasts, the Star Wars t-shirts to the arcades, this film emanates 80s American culture. Chloe Moretz has been receiving a lot of attention this year for her performance in this film and in "Kick-Ass", but it's Kodi Smit-McPhee who steals the show.
The subtleties in his performance sometimes brought tears to my eyes. Overall, I'd say this film works on its own even though it pales in comparison to the original. Reeves vamped this up and Americanized it, which did take away a lot of the original humanity and mystery and added a lot more violence and CGI, but it did work for the most part.
I wish remakes were always this solid.
This review of Let Me In (2010) was written by Jessetaylor25 on 08 Apr 2011.
Let Me In has generally received very positive reviews.
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