Hey folks, Harry here... I've been a fan of Joe Carnahan since he plucked me from the cold snowy night of Sundance to see the premiere of his first film, BLOOD, GUTS, BULLETS & OCTANE in January of 1998. I didn't have tickets, but when he saw me he refused to take "NO" for an answer and drug my carcass into the folding chair from which I discovered this cinematic madman. SMOKIN' ACES & THE GREY both premiered at BUTT-NUMB-A-THONs - and I've enjoyed pretty much everything he's done and I'm greatly looking forward to his BAD BOYS FOR LIFE (Nov. 2018)...
I know, you can sense that I'm going to have an emotional turn here. You see, as the headline let you know, Joe Carnahan is producing and directing a so-called "Reimagining" of THE RAID... Gareth Evans is going to be Executive Producing this reimagining... which is cool... but... think about it. The same year that THE RAID came out, a shit ton of fans lambasted DREDD for being a remake of it, even though they were both shooting at the same time. And as a reimagining of THE RAID plot, DREDD is... frankly... arguably even the cooler film. Certainly deserving of its own sequel... AHEM!
Alright - so Law Enforcement - taking on a multistory building with a thug inside. Alright - so, SWAT vs SECRET SERVICE at TRUMP TOWER to try and stop a Rogue Indicted President from launching our Nuclear Missiles? Final 3 floors are Russian Super Soldiers. Ok, that's my topical pitch for a reimagining of THE RAID.
Problems with an American remake of THE RAID - is the fight scenes will never compare. Gareth has the best fighters in the world and all the time to get those scenes note perfect. If they're set to out doing the original THE RAID - each major fight sequence should have 30 - 45 days to rehearse and shoot. That's the glorious secret to amazing combat... TIME to shoot it safely and beautifully intricate.
I wish Joe the absolute best of luck...
Keep it cool,
Harry
