The Wicker Man (12A)

Absolute utter crap. Another case of the Yanks ruining a British masterpiece. They made it a good vs. evil thing, something that the original never was. They confused the horrifying simplicity of the islander's religion with horror baddies and they made the missing girl the policeman's daughter! WTF!!!! Please for the sake of everything decent go watch the original (directors cut if you can)

Quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. Nevermind the fact it was poorly written, acted and directed, did it ever occur to anyone that attempting to draw ONE police officer to a strange commune by sending a note about a missing/possibly abducted child would have much more likely attracted 50 police officers and the FBI? This film was so ridiculous it made it impossible to even suspend belief.

It was a disaster. It is one of many remakes that audiences have been forced to suffer through in recent years. It lacks all of the potent imagery of the original with its clash between Sergeant Howie's virgin like ravings and the earthy pleasures of the community that he is investigating. The original had its own flaws, many of which were created when the original cut was trimmed by a studio that was changing hands. Still, it is disconcerting to think of a director of LaButes class thinking he knows better, then proving so painfully that he does not.

A complete and utter disappointment, this never even comes close to the original. Nic Cage provides a frantic performance (best bit is towards the end with the CG bees) and others seem to be sleep-acting towards the end. There is a lot of footage of Nic running this way and that, sometimes on a bike, calling out, getting lost, looking confused, making poor decisions. Please - save yourself, don't bother. Re-rent the original and have a good time.