Not going to waste too much time on this one...all the critics are saying it is the same exact movie as the original, and they aren't kidding. There is nothing new offered whatsoever in the remake. Yeah, maybe some deaths are different, but the end result is the same. I knew this, and was expecting it, so I got what I was looking for (I was really bored when I decided to go see this). However, I still managed to leave mad. Why?

One of the best things about the original "Omen" is the great score by Jerry Goldsmith, who won an Academy Award for it. The best music in the movie is "Ave Satani," which uses chanting, and is used wonderfully when the Doberman is chasing Thorn through the house (it sounds like he's panting an ode to Satan) and at the very tale end of the movie (if you've seen it you know). While I was sitting watching the remake, I noticed they decided not to use Jerry's score, and went with some basic, generic music, which is fine.

Why did I get mad? Lo and behold, as the credits begin to roll, "Ave Satani" is played. Yes, they decide to take the score and completely waste it on the damn credits! Jesus if you are going to bring the music back at least use it properly!

The acting was actually pretty terrible...I love Julia Stiles, but she had no heart in this picture at all. Liev Schreiber did ok...but compare him to Gregory freaking Peck? There's no way he could live up to that. David Thewlis as Keith Jennings was actually pretty good, but everyone else stunk up the place. ESPECIALLY that damn half-pint that played Damien, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. This tater tot sucked, bad. Luckily the director knew this and he is only on-screen for literally about 5 minutes. No kidding. He has 4 lines total. Even those 4 lines are enough to make your ears scream blood.

The main thing is that it just isn't scary. The intense parts of the original are all neutered and last like 2 seconds. Damien isn't scary, he's just blank. They try and make it real with images of the tsunami and 9/11, but it's just dumb.

If you want to see an updated version of the original with virtually nothing changed (again, what I was expecting) then go for it. If you haven't seen the original...see that one, and skip this nonsense.

Hide Full Review