Escape from New York

I know I'm 26 years late to the party but I finally saw Escape from New York last night.

And I may ruffle some feathers here, but while watching the film, I couldn't help but think how much better it will be once it gets remade with Gerard Butler as Snake Plissken.

Now, I loved Gerard Butler in 300. Hell, I even loved the guy in Tomb Raider 2 and Dracula 2000. The guy can flat out own the screen. But he won't come close to Kurt Russell's bad-ass performance as Snake, although every other aspect of the remake should surpass the original.

EFNY just seemed too clunky. I know Carpenter isn't exactly a narrative director, but some pacing would have been nice every now and then. And if modern Hollywood is good for one thing, they know how to churn out economical thrillers. There were just too many wandering scenes in the original EFNY, and I think more plot devices and action set pieces will make the remake more entertaining.

I'm not expecting the remake to be anything more than a mindless action flick. But if done on the level of another Carpenter remake, Assault on Precinct 13, the remake of Escape from New York could be a lot of fun. More fun, even, than the original.

I am starting to feel for my man John, though. The man can't catch a break. Hollywood is having a feeding frenzy on his early work, with Assault from Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog and now Escape from New York all having been already remade or scheduled for remakes soon.

So as long as Hollywood stays away from the classics, remakes could update some uneven cult movies and make them fun for the rest of us.

FILM SCORE: ** (out of ****)
BEST PART(S): Russell as Plissken, Barbeau's boobs, the last 10 minutes of the film.
STATUS: Remake should surpass original's fun factor.