The Wicker Man Refueled
By Christina Armani
And the parade of Hollywood remakes continues, the newest one being a remake of the 1974 British Screenplay The Wicker Man. I have seen the original twice (by choice) with my English professor and it’s one of my favorite movies. As for the new remake with Nicholas Cage, I have three words – worst remake ever. At first I was very excited about the remake since the original was very controversial but this one only has the controversial burning. For those who haven’t seen it, the original version follows basically the same story line except that the officer is a virgin sacrifice as opposed to an officer connected to a matriarical society. I am sure that my professor will agree with me when I say I don’t like what was done to the movie at all. I don’t understand the car accident scenario and what is up with the cursing police officer dressed in suits? Nicholas Cage did some pretty good acting and he did a great job portraying a man being lied to. However, I do think he would have done a great job with the role of a stuffy, uptight zealot. Another thing I also don’t like is that they only mentioned the fertility ritual in passing when they showed one in the original. No I’m not going to say what they are, you have to see the original. All things aside though, the story line is very good and the movie has a Hitchcokian feel to it. I would give the movie three stars on it’s own but since I’ve seen the original as well, I give this remake two stars and one thumb up. I am sure my professor will argee with me when I say they didn’t do the original justice at all. Want to see what I’m taking about? See both versions and decide for yourself which one is better.