Straw Dogs (2011) Movie Review

Release: 2011, Rating: R, Run time: 110 min.

Well, I’m probably going to get a lot of hate for this review and people disagreeing with me. Why you ask? Well for one thing, I have yet to see the original Straw Dogs, that came out in 1971, starring Dustin Hoffman. I thought about watching it before reviewing the remake and then seeing how each compared, but then I thought to myself, that wouldn’t be fair to either movie. Instead, what I decided to do, was review the remake on it’s own merits, having no idea how brilliant, or bad the original is and not having the original looming over my head and clouding my judgement on the newer film. What I write below probably won’t agree with everyone, but, as the Dude once said, yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.

Amy Sumner (Kate Bosworth) glowering her way through the film.

Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: L.A. screenwriter David Sumner relocates with his wife to her hometown
in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing
conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.
 

From the first meeting with David (James Marsden) and Charlie (Alexander Skarsgård), tensions were high.

David Sumner (James Marsden) and his wife Amy (Kate Bosworth) decide to move back to her hometown and once there, David meets his wife’s ex-boyfriend, Charlie, played by Alexander Skarsgård. Amy and Charlie’s past history creates a tension between David and Charlie and it only gets worse, when David finds out that Charlie will be fixing up the barn, at their newly acquired home, Amy’s parents old farmhouse. Things aren’t too bad at first, with Charlie and the gang only occasionally glancing wanting eyes at Amy and acting like dicks to David, but as the days go on, things get worse and worse. The boiling point is reached, when tragic circumstances put David and Amy, in the middle of a hometown war, with local drunk Tom Heddon (James Woods), Charlie’s gang and Jeremy Niles, played by Prison Break’s Dominic Purcell. Soon enough, David learns that every man has a breaking point.

Never trust any hillbilly with a gun, especially two standing right behind you.

I must stress again, that I’ve haven’t seen the original, so don’t jump down my throat when I say that I enjoyed this remake. I loved that it took it’s time building up the tension, scene by scene, which made the ending, when David must stand up against troubling times, that much more intense and kick ass. Plus, the acting of everyone involved was good and it was great seeing Alexander Skarsgård portray someone who doesn’t burst into flames in the daylight, or make women instantly swoon for him. Trust me, this role might make you hate him. So, great job Skarsgård.

Enjoy ladies.

If I wanted to dish out some dislikes, I would have to say that I didn’t enjoy Kate Bosworth’s Amy at first. She kinda seemed like a bitch and was pretty mean to David, who was only trying to smooth things out and not make a big deal of things. What does she do? She jumps down his throat the first chance she gets and then goes and does something incredibly stupid, that escalates problems tenfold. I won’t say she deserves what she got, as no one deserves that, but jeeze, think before doing stupid shit. Also, in order to get to the tense ending, we do have to subject ourselves to some stupid behavior from a few different people. Yes, it sucks, but oh well, the beginning slow burn and ending, made up for any misgivings I had about it.

David’s wondering if home insurance will cover crazy home invasions.

Straw Dogs wasn’t boring in the least bit and the tension was felt throughout it’s entire run time. A few stupid things happen along the way and Amy is a woman I wouldn’t really want to spend the rest of my life with, but those are things I can easily get over. The entire movie’s tension and mayhem, builds into a crescendo come the final scene and after the credits roll, you’ll be left exhausted.

Rating:

P.S For anyone who disagrees and thinks I’m crazy, just know that this movie made me want to watch the original even more. So, that counts for something, right? Don’t forget to leave awesome comments below, on what you thought about the movie.