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New Line Cinema: "Freddy Vs. Jason" As a fan of both "A Nightmare On Elm Street" and "Friday The 13th," it was good to finally see the man behind the mask and everybody's favorite nightmare come face to ugly face on the big screen. This was the movie that everyone has been waiting for and, when it came time to deliver, this film came through in a mighty big way. It suprised everyone with a $36.4 million open and, the last time I checked the sales figures, it was up to $61.5 million and still doing good business. Even though I enjoy each and every movie in each series, I'll be the first to admit that both of 'em were starting to suffer major flaws and I felt that both of these characters would finally die a permanent death. Not because some teen finally figured out a way to end their reign of terror once and for all. But, because of a serious lack of imagination and a major failure to continue telling these stories with something called a fresh idea. So, when "Freddy Vs. Jason" became a reality, I was curious to see if this movie would live up to the hype or if it was the final nail in the coffin so to speak. Well, I believe this movie has given new life to each character and, if Hollywood doesn't mess it up again like they normally do, both Freddy and Jason can look forward to an exceptionally bright future. This movie started fresh, leaving all the past mistakes behind. It told the story of each character without getting way out of line and then it got down to the business of raising the body count, which, let's face it, is what this movie is all about. A high body count and a fight between the two people who wanna be the only one who gets to raise it. In the seventeen movies between them, with this being number eighteen, I would have to say that this is, without a doubt, the best of the bunch. There's just no question about it. My only hope is that all future movies, solo and together, are as creative as this one. You know, the big bitch most people have about these movies is the fact that, well, okay, you told the story of how they came to be so where does that leave you? They come back from the dead, kill a few people, get killed again by the one or two people who survive, they come back again in another movie to pick them off...it's an endless cycle. There's nothing more to tell, right? No...wrong! The problem is the people who made these movies had no imagination on how to tell a different story every time. Don't say it can't be done because it can. Look at the James Bond movies. There's more of them than both of these movies combined and while each and every one of 'em share some stuff that's familiar, each one is a different story, told in a very creative way. But, that's a whole other film series to get into, which we won't do here. I thought this was such a great film, so great, in fact, that one opinion doesn't do it justice. At least that's what I thought. So, in an effort to give you, the loyal reader, a little more to sink your teeth into, I asked my good friend, The Obnoxious IP, to share his thoughts on the film as well. We had an e-mail exchange about this movie that lasted for a few days. While we didn't always agree on certain things, we both got into the film and I thought his opinion would be one worth sharing with you. This is what he had to say about the movie. I'll spare everyone an introduction as the title pretty well introduces itself. Question is, was the movie worth the hype and the wait? Definately! However, your take on this movie will depend on which camp you belong to, Freddy's or Jason's. Then, to better evaluate this, one must understand that this is a New Line Cinema release, home of Mr. Krueger. Therefore, this was more a continuation of the "Nightmare" series than the "13th." I have not followed the last few "nightmares," but, it's easy to see that there was an already existing plot. To begin the movie, we find Jason lying in the ground and not falling from space as "Jason X" would have it. So, for those of you who thrive on continuity, it's best if you left your Jason timeline at home. Jason truely plays second fiddle in this movie. A pawn in both character and in plot. But, he's definately there and definately Jason. Freddy has his usual wit about him, like it or not. The movie is based on his agenda and plays out accordingly. Freddy made this movie bad. But, fear not, Jason makes it good. Unfortunately, the cg has prevailed where foam rubber latex once presided, which is a shame as this is how these movies originally got most of their notariety. It would seem that they put more effort into the sequences than Freddy's make up (you'd think that one would be a no brainer by now). It is, indeed, one of the bloodiest movies of our time (I guess it's easier to hit the delete button than it is to mop up all that fake blood). The fight does last for quite some time, leaving you, the movie goers, reason to keep on cheering and guessing. And, indeed, there is a clear winner instead of the suspected draw. Who was it? That info will cost you one movie ticket. There's plenty of goodies in here for the life long fans, my favorite being a flash from Jason's childhood. No fan of slasher movies should miss seeing their two greatest icons joined on the same big screen. Don't wait for it to come out on video, it just wouldn't be the same. |