With remakes, there's always going to be a comparison to the original. I think I would have liked this movie a little more if I had not already seen Tarkovsky's 1972 original. The first question with remakes I suppose should be why? I can see the reason for this film being to bring a really good sci-fi story to the younger generation that probably won't be seeing the 165min Russian original. I heard some comments that this movie was too slow or too boring. Well, in that case, I'm sure they wouldn't have had the patience for the original. I've also heard some sci-fi fans who really appreciate Soderbergh's version...in those cases, I'd consider the idea of doing the remake a success. I'm sure some of them would definitely appreciate the original, but I'm sure a certain percentage wouldn't be willing to sit through the same slow-paced story when the running time is nearly twice as long in the original. Soderbergh did a fine job with this movie and did fairly well at capturing the feeling of the original in a quicker time. If that was his vision, then I think he succeeded. He didn't really add anything new to this story. This movies is pretty much an exact, but compacted, copy of the original Tarkovsky film. The actors were adequate, but I didn't get the emotion, albeit subtle, that I got from the Russian original. I personally feel the gratuitous shots of Clooney's butt were unnecessary. In my opinion, Clooney's lead character may have been better with a lesser known actor. He plays the role fairly well and it's one of his more subtle performances to date, but you can't help but see certain Clooneyisms come out from time to time, especially when he gets upset. Though I feel Soderbergh did well to cast lesser knowns in the supporting roles. All in all, it's a decent remake bringing a solid sci-fi story to modern day fans of the genre, but I'd recommend the original to those who can make it through the epic length Russian version of this story.
**1/2 (Out of 4)
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