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Plot Synopsis: U.S. diplomat Robert Thorn (LIEV SCHREIBER) substitutes an orphan for his own stillborn baby in order to spare his unknowing wife, Katherine (JULIA STILES). But after a series of grotesque murders and dire warnings, the Thorns come to the horrifying realization that their child is the son of Satan.
Quick Hit Review: The Omen is a remake of the 1976 classic (in most people’s books, albeit not mine) and while I really don’t have problems with remakes as there are a few that do work (Ocean’s Eleven), but most are quick cash grabs but there are some that are even worse. This is a movie that all around was creatively bankrupt, basically a scene for scene copy with the only differences being an update to 21st century technology, and maybe, if I had one thing that worked better, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick’s Damien at least looked more foreboding by comparison to Harvey Stephens (who does have a cameo here).
Performances wise, Julia Stiles was at least okay and I although she’s never been a great actress, also didn’t get much to work with. Similarly, Live Schreiber, whom I am a big fan of, made the most of it and probably made the movie a tad more tolerable. David Thewlis was perhaps an upgrade over David Warner’s portrayal however the character and his blind devotion to the whole Antichrist didn’t make a whole lot of sense and Michael Gambon’s short screen time was pretty much wasted.
The Omen (2006) was directed by John Moore, a name that might not be familiar to some but does have a checkered resume, a filmography ranging from ‘fine’ (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix) to outright terrible (A Good Day to Die Hard) and this one most definitely aligns with the latter, though that one might be even worse than this. Moore seems like a cool enough guy based on the interviews I’ve seen but I have to wonder what he — and in fairness, a pretty good case, wanted to achieve other than it was 30 years later, so I guess why not? If they had taken the baseline template but then diverge in a different direction.
All in all, not only did The Omen offer anything new but like this year’s The Hustle (remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), the plots were nearly the same that I became rather bored knowing exactly what was going to happen to which my mind just wandered to other places.
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There really is no reason to bother with The Omen (2006) as it offers nothing new to the 1976 version and while I wasn’t over the moon with that movie, it is still well worth watching as it is the original and did at least feature some quality performances.
