Review of The Thing (2011) by Andy P — 29 May 2013

This 2011 film, titled 'The Thing' is a prequel to the 1982 John Capenter film of the same name. (Why it has the same name, I do not know). When I first heard about this film I immediately thought this would be nothing more than a money grab from Hollywood, and in a way it is.

But, unlike other recent remakes/prequels, this is a pretty descent film. It follows a similar plot formula to that of the origanal, hardly offering anything new. However, because of the way the original film opens, it's interesting to see the events which led to that opening.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is excellent as the main protagonist. She is less Kurt Russell of the first film, but is moreso like Sigourney Weaver's character in 'Alien', Ripley. I don't just mean because she's a woman, but because she's a woman amongst a team of men who at first do not respect her opinion, but she then takes charge of the situation, and therefore makes her stand.

The original is one of the greatest sci-fi-horror films of all time. What made it so great, along with its groundbreaking and effective special effects, was the depiction of human paranoia. Here, the updated CGI effects do provide some exciting action, and the human paranoia once again is well performed.

See this movie, but see the original first.