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Life on Mars (US) one thru two
Oct. 25th, 2008 08:26 amSo far, nothing here that's really super-exciting, but nothing that'll make you run screaming back to LOM (UK) DVDs either. The new conceits of the US version have probably been far better documented elsewhere, so we'll just go with what I thought.
The Good
The casting: No one that makes you exaggeratedly sigh and glance over at your framed photograph of the original cast, although it remains to be seen if Harvey Keitel will be as memorable as he was in the UK version. There, he was a sizable antagonist for Sam, while here, he and the rest of the squad seem to fade into the background a little.
The period detail: God help me, I was amused by the way the 00s chase was filmed almost Bourne-style, while the 70s chase was filmed in Starsky&Hutchvision.
The Bad
The Britishisms: Weird as it may sound, sometimes where Life On Mars hews closest to the source is where it's weakest. When a British guy says "You are surrounded by armed bastards," it sounds really cool. But when an American guy says it... he just sounds like kinda a douchenozzle. A real American says "You're surrounded by assholes with semi-automatics!" or something. And in another scene, they remake a fistfight between Gene Hunt and Sam Tyler.
In the original, Sam Tyler is a slender fellow who looks like he might run a marathon in his spare time, while Gene Hunt has this caveman physique like you might find on Joe Don Baker (i.e. you wouldn't want to get in a fight with him, especially if he's knocked a few beers back). In the remake, Hunt is played by old guy Harvey Keitel, while Tyler is played by a musclebound superhero who looks like he could snap Keitel in two. It rings a bit untrue that this is more than a two-hit fight -- Tyler hitting Hunt, and Hunt hitting the ground.
The Ugly
There's a scene where Sam debates whether to kill a serial killer in the future (present) who is a child now. This is the serial killer who is also menacing his girlfriend. So he starts to give a menacing speech about fear, then he reaches for his gun... and his girlfriend suddenly pipes up over the radio to say she's okay, no need to worry. Sam puts the gun away and drives off. It's pretty much the least dramatically valid option imaginable. I realize the hero isn't going to shoot a 12-year-old dead on primetime network TV, but if you're going to Go There, at least have some guts about it.
Also, whereas in the UK version Sam communicated with the present through skewed radio and TV broadcasts, in the US version he runs into Johnny Five who sends him visions of his girlfriend so long as he says the magic words "lonely blue heart." Uh... huh?
The Good
The casting: No one that makes you exaggeratedly sigh and glance over at your framed photograph of the original cast, although it remains to be seen if Harvey Keitel will be as memorable as he was in the UK version. There, he was a sizable antagonist for Sam, while here, he and the rest of the squad seem to fade into the background a little.
The period detail: God help me, I was amused by the way the 00s chase was filmed almost Bourne-style, while the 70s chase was filmed in Starsky&Hutchvision.
The Bad
The Britishisms: Weird as it may sound, sometimes where Life On Mars hews closest to the source is where it's weakest. When a British guy says "You are surrounded by armed bastards," it sounds really cool. But when an American guy says it... he just sounds like kinda a douchenozzle. A real American says "You're surrounded by assholes with semi-automatics!" or something. And in another scene, they remake a fistfight between Gene Hunt and Sam Tyler.
In the original, Sam Tyler is a slender fellow who looks like he might run a marathon in his spare time, while Gene Hunt has this caveman physique like you might find on Joe Don Baker (i.e. you wouldn't want to get in a fight with him, especially if he's knocked a few beers back). In the remake, Hunt is played by old guy Harvey Keitel, while Tyler is played by a musclebound superhero who looks like he could snap Keitel in two. It rings a bit untrue that this is more than a two-hit fight -- Tyler hitting Hunt, and Hunt hitting the ground.
The Ugly
There's a scene where Sam debates whether to kill a serial killer in the future (present) who is a child now. This is the serial killer who is also menacing his girlfriend. So he starts to give a menacing speech about fear, then he reaches for his gun... and his girlfriend suddenly pipes up over the radio to say she's okay, no need to worry. Sam puts the gun away and drives off. It's pretty much the least dramatically valid option imaginable. I realize the hero isn't going to shoot a 12-year-old dead on primetime network TV, but if you're going to Go There, at least have some guts about it.
Also, whereas in the UK version Sam communicated with the present through skewed radio and TV broadcasts, in the US version he runs into Johnny Five who sends him visions of his girlfriend so long as he says the magic words "lonely blue heart." Uh... huh?
