Get Carter (2000)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Stallone's remake of the 1971 classic of the same title finally arrives over on British shores.Only it arrives straight to video.This probably isn't very surprising anyway.The Michael Caine (who also appears here,albeit not in the title role again!) original is seen as an untouchable classic by our movie-going public,and an American re-make would probably be interpreted as the ultimate kick-in-the-teeth.

But for those not bothered about cultural rivalry or who weren't alive when the original was released,this really isn't that bad a film.It has a really involving camera style and the mystery of Stallone's brothers death is intriguing.There are some interesting characters,with Caine as a mysterious promoter type,Mickey Rourke as an old rival of Stallone's and Miranda Richardson as his deceased brother's wife.

This is sadly though,however,a real case of style over substance,all of these things are really well thought out but for some weird reason,they don't really blend that well together.

Still,considering Stallone's recent turkeys,this is quite likely his best in a long while and really not a bad effort.***

Fmovies: Violent film about a hardman named Jack Carter, he is a domineering , dapper angel of vengeance who returns home to investigate a familiar crime and meets sleazy character after another . An acceptable noir film produced by actor Andrew Stevens , Elie Samaha and professionally directed by Stephen Kay (Boogeyman , The last time I committed suicide), though with no originality . An extremely tough movie burdened by cruel murders and seedy characters , based on a novel titled 'Get Carter' by Ted Lewis from 1970 . This brutal , austere crime-thriller focuses a cheerless enforcer Jack Carter (hard-working star Sylvester Stallone) , a tough , amoral gangster who works as a killer in Los Angeles . Passable Sylvester Stallone in the title role , but inferior to Michael Caine (he played Jack Carter in the original) here playing a secondary role as Cliff Brumby (his character was only in one scene in the original cut, but test audiences said they liked him and they transformed the movie to have Caine as the bad guy) . Here Stallone is a hit-man who returns home to investigate his brother's death by some mobsters .As he decides to travel his natal Seattle to investigate who is responsible ; Jack contends enemies , but he stands a head above fellow hoods , but not apart from them . Two-fisted Jack in order to revenge his sibling , vows vengeance and spontaneously meets sleazy characters (bad ass Mickey Rourke and nasty computer magnate Alan Cummings) in the middle of sinister bands war and running afoul into underworld . When his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident , gangster Jack Carter travels to Seattle to investigate and reunites his widow (Miranda Richardson and niece (Rachael Leigh Cook) and he subsequently meets ominous characters who may have been involved . Carter aware the murder of his brother at the hands of a "gang" opponent led by a mobster . We see as his facade of sophisticated and elegant mob gentleman with exquisite manners , educated pose , and expensive costumes , begins collapsing , leaving see the lascivious, malleability and a cold killer . Carter starts moving in this ambient but all of this ends in a shocking discovery delivered by a compact disc which greatly angers Carter . This triggers a wave of violence that sweeps the the underworld lumpen in Seattle . Carter keeps the things moving along until ending vendetta. The end of the film is like a summary of the entire story for the scenarios that uses austere bleak and cold environment .

This interesting film features thrills , well-staged car chases , raw energy , adult subject matter , clunking cruelty surrounding , lots of violence and enlivened by high-powered performances . Plenty of intrigue, atmospheric music ,noisy action and grisly killings until impressive finale vengeance . It is a very violent film , depressing charismatic , magnificently set , but always strong , with a perfect abstraction of a climate of moral misery to game with a colorful photography by magnificent cameraman Mario Fiore . Adequate and moving musical score by Tyler Bates with a rare mixture . The picture obtained moderated Box office , there were plans to do a sequel which never materialized .

The main differences between the classic version and this recently made story are the following : The British 1971 bruising film "GET CARTER¨ far superior to remake , is an original movie with abundant nudism , kinky sex , excessively violent and set in Newcastle , a city in northern England portrayed as a cool place , foggy , sor

In 1971, the first of these action, violence prone films was offered. In the original novel, written by Ted Lewis, it was Michael Caine who was the unstoppable, revenge filled Gangster out to discover who killed his brother. In this updated version directed by Stephen Kay, we have Sylvester Stallone playing Jack Carter. Both versions were very well conceived. The updated film has added the blood, gore and non-stop drama which is common with newer versions. The story remains the same in that Carter (Stallone) learns his younger brother died under suspicious circumstances and he is determined to learn why. Along the way, he is met with business types who are not interested in helping Carter find the truth. To that end, John C. McGinley, Mickey Rourke and even Michael Caine get in the action. The movie is filled with dark sequences, black violence and thrilling chase scenes, all of which add to the final outcome. Great movie and a worthy successor to the original. ****

Get Carter fmovies. Approximately 1/10th as good as the original, this version of GET CARTER doesn't even have the courage to use the original ending. And it is edited in today's hyper-trendy style using extremely brief shots edited together in a welter of images hoping to create an impression of kinetic action. Instead, it's just indecipherable chaos.

Stallone tries his best, but his mustache and goatee have the odd effect of squeezing his lips together increasing his resemblance to a fish. He's also saddled with long, boring scenes with his niece (or maybe she's his daughter) that really don't lead anywhere. This has a different main villain than the original, but it's hardly a surprise since Mickey Rourke's character gives it away in his first scene. (But what happens to Mickey Rourke later? If he's dead, why wasn't there some kind of reaction from the numerous bystanders?) Stallone needs to forget about the audience liking him, and go for the realism of the character, but he never, never will show that kind of imagination and integrity.

Showy, trendy junk.

By far, the most entertaining moment on the DVD of "Get Carter" is the hilariously outdated 1971 theatrical preview for the original version of the film, which starred Michael Caine. (Caine does appear in this Stallone update.) Sadly, this update stinks. Sylvester Stallone's Jack Carter, a Las Vegas button man, skips town without his boss's permission and heads up to his old stomping grounds in Seattle to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, whom he hasn't seen in five years. That's the pitch.

The action is surprisingly restrained and impressionistic. For example, when one of the minor bad guys gets killed, we see the result of a headlong plunge but not the actual slaying. But this kind of restraint doesn't dovetail with the promise of the previews: an ass-kicking Stallone in a Rat Pack suit. The director tries to gloss over the many plot holes with slick, faux-Fincher cuts and zooms, but he's just covering.

Here's the tragedy. Action-thrillers don't require good acting, but they sure are enhanced by it. Most of the actors in "Get Carter" have the ability to far outshine this genre, much the way the actors in 1998's "Ronin" did-within the context of the plot, the cast of "Ronin" delivered their lines with utter conviction.

Not necessarily so here. Those stars in "Get Carter" who have real talent weren't used enough, and those who don't have the strongest dramatic chops were given boatloads of screen time. Sly is wooden at times (as per usual), but has some fine moments.

Miranda Richardson, as Carter's widowed sister-in-law, is solid, but underutilized. Mickey Rourke, as an internet porn purveyor, has obviously been working out some more, but it's still apparent that he peaked in "Diner." The big surprise was just how much actual characterization they allowed Rachael Leigh Cook--as Carter's bereaved niece--to show off. Any one of these actors, given enough on-screen opportunity, might have saved "Get Carter" from its ridiculous plot holes and incongruities. But they didn't. Do yourself a favor: avoid this film.

I simply do not get what certain people have against this movie. Sure, it's not a cinematic breakthrough, but it is very sharp, smart and focused. Jack Carter's brother, Richie, dies under mysterious circumstances. Jack goes back to his home town to check things out and perhaps find out the truth. What he finds is not all that easy to get to grips with.

This is not your usual run of the mill revenge movie. The story has some layers to it and I am surprised to see that people did not appreciate that. Jack Carter is not a good guy. He is a bad man working in bad town doing bad things. Always was a bad guy. But he reaches a moment in his life when the things that take place between him and his boss's girl Audrey, the things that he finds out about his brother and his brother's family, all of them act as a catalyst. For once in his life he tries to set things right. How does he do that? By doing what he knows to do. He does bad things. The guys he goes up against are a little a out of the reach of the law. To wait for justice to set things right is not a concept Jack is familiar with. The only things he knows is to take care of his own dirty laundry. And at the moment his life is his dirty laundry. He was not there for his brother, for his niece and he missed some oportunities... Time to set things right. But he does only bad things in this movie. He kills people by shooting them, by throwing them out of the balcony, by beating them up in the elevator. WHY? Because these are the same things that would happen to him if he let his guard down.

Great acting performances form most guys in the movie. Stallone seems to have found some serious acting genes within himself. This is some of his best work and his best is very good. Not only for the genre. Although when looking back at Oscar (his 1991 comedy), D-Tox (a very underrated movie) and Copland I have to say that this is not a one off. No sir. When the script, the director and the rest of the cast are good he can act big time. Michael Caine made a very good movie called get Carter back in 1971. I love that movie and is always one of my favorites to watch on Turner Classic Movies. The remake, I felt, is just as good. Sure it has the sort of usual happy ending, but that is just the American Way of ending action movies. They love a hero. Mickey Rourke, Alan Cummings, Michael Caine and Rachael Leigh-Cook are very good in this one. Somehow Miranda Richardson seemed a little over the top in her angry widow/mother scenes.

Michael Caine acted in this one simply because he knew it was good. The movie could have been done without him, without a doubt. But he did it because unlike other remakes, this one is just as good as the original. It has it's own style, a somewhat different story and a happier ending. Otherwise, they are two very similar movies. And even if some consider the original as better, they should not write this one off. The layers are there, you just have to dig. And this only because the producers did not get this movie. The director, the cast, everybody got this movie and knew what they were making except for the producers who seem to have been thinking of another movie. Michael Caine seems to have given his seal off approval to Stallone's acting in this one. The producers wanted a classic 80's action movie. At least that's what I feel. So, this is a very good movie. Just as good (or almost as good, depending on how you look at it) as the original. It has great acting, sharp directing, nice car chase scenes, nice action scenes