Get Carter

Get Carter
by Stephen Kay

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DVD Reviews of Get Carter

DVD Review: Classic Michael Caine actioner gets tepid remake
Summary: 2 Stars

Jack Carter, originally Caine's character, is this time played by Sylvester Stallone. Carter is a very bad man, which worked perfectly the first time around. Why the producers decided to tone the character down for modern audiences is beyond me. He is still unsavory, but that's not the same thing as being bad to the bone. The result is that this Carter is far less interesting.

After working in Las Vegas for five years as a debt enforcer for a casino boss, Carter returns home to Seattle after his brother is killed in a car accident. He finds the circumstances of the death to be suspicious. A little checking around shows that some of the people the brother knew have a lot to hide. Soon, several of them have reason to fear Carter, who, after all, is all too familiar with their shady little world. The trick for Carter in this dark little thriller is to find out what his brother might have known that cost him his life.

Get Carter is literally one of the darkest films I have seen in years. Director Stephen T. Kay wants to make sure we get in the mood of the story. I was yearning for a little sunshine long before the movie ended.

I will note that Stallone gives a more subtle and nuanced performance than usual. If the producers were determined to do this remake, then Stallone was a good choice for the lead. Besides Caine, the movie also stars two of my favorite British actors - Miranda Richardson and Alan Cummin, both playing Americans. Richardson adds class to the picture, but her role is hardly a stretch for her. Add Cummin to a growing list of English actors who have learned how to play American villains better than Americans themselves. As a vain, self-centered zillionaire, Cummin's character is delightfully nasty.

This movie is not the worst choice you could make to spend an evening with. Had the original never existed, reviewers probably would have been kinder. The fact is that it suffers by comparison. If you like your thrillers dark and on the nihilistic side, you might enjoy this, but if you can find a copy of the original, by all means watch it instead.

Description of Get Carter