Review of The Thing (2011) by Matt W — 20 Aug 2012

I enjoyed this surprisingly! The way it connects to the original I enjoyed quite a lot, and although I was aware that some things were completely daft, I never found myself bored or distracted, it was very much a spectacle for me, and some of the effects were amazing, and although some could say it was unnecessary, and even if it was, the movie on it's own was pretty enjoyable, and there was enough suspense hat was merged with popcorn fun that I just had a great time watching this movie throughout. And yes this movie may have a lot of gore, but I thought that the monsters etc were so amazing to watch, as a lot of it was animatronics, and it all looked so real.

The performances weren't that much of a problem in this movie as there are a few good actors here, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton, although I did have a problem with one of the side characters who played an English Business man-person... But he was very wooden and just played the 'difficult person' in the story, and although he is supposed to be smart, he can be very stupid at times, and it would get quite frustrating some times in the story, but the look of the movie and the other characters balanced it out. A few of the Norwegian characters put some energy into the film also, just to make it seem a little lighter, and not as dark.

I liked the way this movie was pieced together, as although it did have a few of the same elements of the original... well actually the remake of the original, this prequel worked, as it did include some subtle references to the 1982 film, and it was fun enough just to see those little easter eggs in this movie. Also this movie has one of my favorite closing credits, the way it is done is so clever, and the music and everything is so fun to watch and explains a few things in the 1982 film.

The music in the movie is done in a very nostalgic way, and you get some slick and cool guitar and electric sounds, although at times it makes it seem a little melodramatic, but overall I thought it worked well enough, and created a creepy tone for the film. Added to this, I thought that this film just had this creepy tone throughout, and I do think that this movie could have had a few more scares in the film, as at times it seemed to be a bit more of a ride instead of scares, but I didn't mind too much as it was just fun to watch, and it was paced so well and the movie moved in a flash and it was just pure fun to watch on screen.

This film is fun, gory and scary. Although it may not live up to the original, it is still an impressive prequel to a film, and I thought it all connected pretty successfully. I think you should watch it, and this movie does have mixed opinions, but I think if you just treat it like a bit of fun, then you should enjoy it, even if it is a bit forgettable.