Review of The Thing (2011) by Jwtiii — 21 Oct 2011

As expected, this provided a richer experience than Carpenter's and quite a bit more than a remake-type prequel. This film is a worthy successor to those entries created around John W. Campbell's landmark novella "Who Goes There?" from 1938. That includes Howard Hawk's 1952 compelling interpretation and - of course - John Carpenter's contribution in 1982. plot - good sci-fi relies on realistic but unusual mortal dangers inevitably imposed by the many weaknessses present in the human condition. Check! [A-] characters - an acute, fear-induced tension/mistrust pits Swedes against Americans, workers against scientists and those motivated by professional ambition against the protagonist who is concerned for the safety of everyone isolated there. [A+] music - Beltrami borrowed Ennio Morricone's score. Good decision. [A] effects - successfully advanced the state-of-the-art from Carpenter's benchmark. [A] hardware - the ship, though detailed, was a disappointment for me. [B-] action - well-paced, quite intense and believable. [A].

This outing is a quality product to be sure - but nothing will beat Carpenter's ending with Kurt Russell and Keith David seated and freezing to death, glaring suspiciously at each other over a bottle of bourbon in the smoky, burning wreckage of an Arctic encampment as night falls. . .