This picture takes the very noble attempt to revive this classic noir with a highly stylized and gritty take. Rather than leaving the gruesomeness of the geek implied, we get to see him in action; rather than give our character something of a neutral, if not happy ending, as the original does, he gets no redemption; rather than an accidental bump on a tree, our 'hero' pummels Grindle like Leto in Fight Club. All of this seems to be what would be expected of modern reboots of these classic films-dialing up the realism, violence, sexuality, etc. To turn the original on its head and also deliver the same sort of impact the original would have had on the audience of its day. People have been doing grit-i-fied versions of old noirs since the 70s though, so that's all pretty par for the course.
Where this movie stands (or tries to stand) out is in amping up the style. Awesome sets, costumes, and semi-surreal feeling hint at a new breed of noir style that's more influenced by the exciting drawings on the covers of pulp magazines than any actual 40s noir movie or Hammett novel. The styling, however, often feels somewhat inconsistent, like it can't quite decide how out-there it's going to be. Some sets and scenes like Ritter's office or the bloody car getaway find a nice middle-ground between Keira-Knightly-oscar-nominated-period-piece and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. But others fall more solidly in the period-piece oscar-bait camp.
Overall, good. But I was a little disappointed, especially compared to how wonderfully executed the original is.
Also, more minor, but the way they set up the switch of the wood alcohol and liquor bottles was frustratingly blatant. I remember the Power version being much more subtle. "Here's two boxes, one's got booze, one's got poison. Can't see any reason why keeping them so close together might be a bad idea. Moving along..."
Where this movie stands (or tries to stand) out is in amping up the style. Awesome sets, costumes, and semi-surreal feeling hint at a new breed of noir style that's more influenced by the exciting drawings on the covers of pulp magazines than any actual 40s noir movie or Hammett novel. The styling, however, often feels somewhat inconsistent, like it can't quite decide how out-there it's going to be. Some sets and scenes like Ritter's office or the bloody car getaway find a nice middle-ground between Keira-Knightly-oscar-nominated-period-piece and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. But others fall more solidly in the period-piece oscar-bait camp.
Overall, good. But I was a little disappointed, especially compared to how wonderfully executed the original is.
Also, more minor, but the way they set up the switch of the wood alcohol and liquor bottles was frustratingly blatant. I remember the Power version being much more subtle. "Here's two boxes, one's got booze, one's got poison. Can't see any reason why keeping them so close together might be a bad idea. Moving along..."