It's a waste of time thinking about this movie as a remake of the original French classic. They're two very different beasts, sharing little more than the title and their basic premise - hauling nitroglycerin over mountainous terrain.
I actually appreciated this approach. This new 'Le salaire de la peur' doesn't pretend to be a substitute for the original, let alone an improvement on it. Rather, it's an effort to use the same basic premise in a substantially different way. Different also from the later color remake, by the way. I was reminded more of the excellent Vertical Limit, which involves lugging nitroglycerin up to a mountain peak.
The original black-and-white 'Salaire' was very much a film noire. It's tone is sombre throughout, and it deals with heavy issues such as greed, selfishness and, naturally, fear.
This new movie is a simple action-adventure. A popcorn flick. Instead of heavy themes it offers insurgent attackers, firefights and even a low-key romantic sub-plot. The bare outline of the new story remains similar to that of the original, but the detail is very different.
Bottom line, I find the current rating much too low. To me, anything below 5/10 is really not worth watching. Personally, I give this new 'Le salaire de la peur' 6/10. It's an admittedly by-the-numbers action film that will provide good light entertainment for fans of the genre.
I actually appreciated this approach. This new 'Le salaire de la peur' doesn't pretend to be a substitute for the original, let alone an improvement on it. Rather, it's an effort to use the same basic premise in a substantially different way. Different also from the later color remake, by the way. I was reminded more of the excellent Vertical Limit, which involves lugging nitroglycerin up to a mountain peak.
The original black-and-white 'Salaire' was very much a film noire. It's tone is sombre throughout, and it deals with heavy issues such as greed, selfishness and, naturally, fear.
This new movie is a simple action-adventure. A popcorn flick. Instead of heavy themes it offers insurgent attackers, firefights and even a low-key romantic sub-plot. The bare outline of the new story remains similar to that of the original, but the detail is very different.
Bottom line, I find the current rating much too low. To me, anything below 5/10 is really not worth watching. Personally, I give this new 'Le salaire de la peur' 6/10. It's an admittedly by-the-numbers action film that will provide good light entertainment for fans of the genre.