The Thing (2011)

Couch Reviewer: 3 Stars 

***

This is one of those movies that gets points just for what it is, science-fiction, horror, with an impeccable pedigree to one of the best horror films of all time.  We have a tough time of trying to determine if this movie is a continuation of the original, The Thing (1982) or a remake.  The original FAR outdoes this one simply because of the few things it has going for it; isolation in the Antarctic tundra, an entirely male cast, and a strong lead male actor: Kurt Russell.  The problem with the new movie is they removed this primary element, we now have a female lead actress with a mixed crew of Norwegians.  By now, the idea of the female lead to be "different" is old and used up, now that its being used by everyone.  The isolation is not as believable in this film because most of the time the cast walks around without their parka hoods off and we are supposed to believe this is Antarctica.  The special effects used in the 2011 version are cheap and cheesy.  The 1982 version used prosthetics, hand-made puppets and latex, this lends itself to a very scary environment.  The two movies are like comparing the new Star Wars with the old ones made in the original trilogy and get the same idea.   CGI runs rampant in this film to make the aliens that were easily made from other items in 82.  It is sheer laziness in creating this film.  The tie in from 1982 to 2011 was the last 5 minutes in the credits where it shows the Norwegians chasing the husky across the tundra to the American post.  So for anyone who has not seen the 82 version will not understand how this movie applies to the last.  It is an okay film for what is was, The Thing, but it generates a lot of what they did wrong rather than what they did right in creating this film.