Well i'm British and proud..and yes i've seen both versions..the first one countless times, on video and tv...Yes the original Michael Caine version is a Classic, its got the lot..great characters, memorable lines "You were only supposed..." (y'know the rest), one of the best car action/driving sequences, and a great cliffhanger ending (literally)..Now fast forward 40+ years and you've got the Mark Walhberg version..Now most of the cast and the director have been quoted as saying that this new version is not an exact copy of the original, but its own standalone version with just a few references to the Original....the title in this one refers to a crime job at the start of the movie,the rest of the film is set in LA..the lead character is again called Charlie Croker and erm theres a few Mini's dotted about in it also, but aside from that the story has been completely re-written, and i think all the better for it..I reckon if they had have done a by the numbers remake this new version would have suffered from people making comparisons to what was a Classic film (no question)...The cast especially the bit part players (jason statham, mos def, donald sutherland and that guy from 'austin powers' are all really good and rounded, not ya one dimensional acting chimps..the film really does go for a character driven story as opposed to an all out action-fest...the story about double crossing and payback is a good move for this kind of movie..the music is pretty funky in places (and it aint ya norm Techno bang-bang soundtrack, for a change)..the new Mini Coopers are used well in the film, and as like the original are used as a main centrepiece to the movie (the end heist sequence is great)..oh and Charlize Theron is well...tasty...Yeh its got its faults..Mark Walhberg as per usual aint stretching is acting ability or anyones for that matter, the middle section of the film slows down to a crawl (could have done with an action sequence of sorts thrown in there), and the end seems a little bit of an afterthought (it dont even come close to the coach over a cliff moment in the original)..but like i said dont compare it to the original coz its its own little movie..It wont go down as Classic movie (so much similar has been done in the last 40years), but as a good action/character driven story i really enjoyed it..worth paying the cinema admission to go and see..oh and also just to see Charlize Theron's T*T's (jus kidding...shame..never mind, maybe in her next movie)
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