Pusher (2012) Reviews

• An energetic remake of a cult Euro crime-thriller

  Red-Barracuda2012-06-24

  The original version of Pusher from Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn was an excellent crime-thriller with a stand-out performance from Kim Bodnia. This British remake stars Richard Coyle in the central role. Its narrative is really very similar to the original. It means that if you know the original then there aren't really too many surprises here. Nevertheless, this is a remake put together with some energy and style. And Coyle is very good in the central role. The story like before depicts the downfall of a pusher who loses a kilo of cocaine worth £55,000 when he is busted. Milo the Mediterranean gangster who supplied him with the gear demands his money back within two days. This leads to an escalation of violence. Zlatko Buric reprises his role of Milo the crime boss, which he memorably played in the original. Once again he is a scene stealer throughout. Although it's basically Richard Coyle's movie, he is in more or less every scene, and he propels the narrative. It's a story that has a real inertia. It's fast paced and has real energy. It's helped hugely here by the soundtrack by Orbital. Even when these guys were in their heyday in the 90's their music always had a film score feel to it, so it's no surprise that their music here fits the film so well. Director Luis Prieto holds everything together well and ensures that there is a stylish look to go along with the grit. Although, I wouldn't say that this is an improvement on the original. It's just too similar. But on its own terms it is a good, energetic crime-thriller with some great performances.

• Lazy Filmmaking of an already remade film

  speedmail202012-10-25

  For some strange reason, I thought this film being executive produced by NWR would render better results. Alas, I was duped again by marketing. I should have known. After all, what made the original Pusher (and it's two sequels) great was not the very basic, over told story, but rather the style of NWR's direction, the performances of the actors and the very real time nature of the film. The directing here is quite pedestrian and downright lazy, bringing nothing of the style of the original. The acting is decent, but again we've already seen this done better. And by the way, this film was already remade two years ago in India. Every director has movies they just LOVE and would want to emulate. For such a basic story, this director could have come up with any one of many basic "drug deal gone bad" stories and used his style to tell it. Unfortunately, this film takes the easy way out, trying to simply capitalize on the name of the original, without elevating it.

• Pointless Remake...

  owen-691-3809102012-09-28

  Although there is nothing seriously wrong with the movie, it is however a pointless remake of a superior product. Basically the only point of the movie is to cash in the 'executive producers' name/previous work. The performances of most of the actors was adequate, however I would advise anyone interested in the themes and concepts explored in this sub- standard remake to watch the original (in fact watch all 3 of the Pusher trilogy, although 2 and 3 seem a little rushed they remain better quality than this version). Having said that; it was good to see Zlatko Buric in a role in this film.- hmmm only nine lines and just like my friend said to me last night: 'I need another line'. ANyway I give Pusher (2012) 4/10 and thats Pushing it...

• Unnecessary 'Remake'

  crimson662012-09-29

  I have to say this 'remake' was incredibly disappointing. well to say that i was expecting much is not quite accurate, in fact, i was expecting not very much. however, what i saw with this film was utter mediocrity by this director with poorly directed scenes which if properly produced would not have made the final cut. overall it's an amateur production of this cult film remake. around the halfway point it did in fact start to pick up its pace and there were some memorable scenes. overall though i have to say most scenes were unmemorable. the cliché British techno/house score did not help matters. a big plus was seeing the actor who portrays Milo in this film, as he starred in 2 of the original pusher films by refn. he actually made the film enjoyable to watch at times by his performance. ultimately, Refn had far less of a budget to make his pusher film compared to the budget Luis Prieto had to work with. So to create such a lackluster effort all around by Prieto and the crew is quite a disappointment. Refn had stated early on he did not want to interfere with this remake, though I think he should have considering it does reflect on him somewhat, albeit indirectly. 5.5/10

• Ultimately Pointless

  topeconhilo2012-10-18

  I saw this due to my love of the original Danish trilogy and was quite excited to see what would be done with this remake. Unfortunately though, the answer is not much. The film has been made with a worse cast, worse direction and what even looks like less of a budget (although I'm sure that's not the case). The bland styling of the film, set in unnaturally lit night clubs in "London", somehow make Copenhagen in 1996, seem far more relatable than the modern day England portrayed here. Obviously, the film's strength is the still solid script, which remains, for the most part intact and there are some strong scenes towards the end of the film, but it fails in recapturing the emotion or energy of the first. The dynamic of Frank's relationships with both Tony and Flo are poorly executed this time round, with neither dilemma being quite as believable as before, which ultimately confuses who you're intended to be routing for. Finally, the ending of the movie, intended to be open ended (as in the original), is poorly directed and edited here, which causes it to cross the line into the "frustrating" category. Refn's original didn't hold your hand either, but with the way the original is edited and interplayed, with flashes of the foes after Frank running through his mind, it at least pointed you towards a conclusion in your own brain. This ending, like the film, leaves you a little cold.