I know that people don’t like these disposable, commercial, and pointless remakes of classic eighties movies. And I count myself among them. However, if you’re willing to give this remake a chance, it might actually surprise you. Not totally surprise you, because let’s face it, this is indeed a disposable, commercial, and pointless remake. It’s going to little surprise you, like you’ve got nothing better to do on a Wednesday night and play this movie. The Hitcher 2007 edition is a solid and quite forgettable thriller featuring sleek cinematography and a surprising amount of gore.
Now, I should be perfectly honest here and tell you that I barely remember the original movie from 1986 starring Rutger Hauer. I’m sure I’ve seen it at least once but for the love of me, I can’t remember anything about it. And I’m sure this one is going to fare pretty much the same. It’s not all bad news when it comes to the 2007 remake of The Hitcher. The cinematography is excellent and the whole movie has this sleek and modern visual style along with excellent camera work.
The cast is comprised of familiar faces led by none other than Sean Bean. I wonder if he’s going to die here too? With a running time of just under eighty minutes and fast pacing, this is a movie that’s going to hold your attention. It starts off strong right away as our young couple gets into trouble within the first ten minutes. The Hitcher then keeps ramping up the tension and the stunts to increasingly crazy levels. During the final third, I could not hold my excitement as the chase scenes and crashes were excellent.
Jim Halsey and Grace Andrews are college students driving across the country to meet their friends. After all, it’s fucking spring break and there are vast amounts of alcohol and drugs to be consumed. However, one faithful night the couple decides to pick up a hitchhiker that will prove to be anything but that…
Sean Bean carried this movie like a true soldier (did I hear someone say Sharpe), with the rest of the cast tagging along. Apart from Neal McDonough, who was pretty engaging and had a great screen presence. And I guess beautiful Sophia Bush was also cool. It was so refreshing to see Sean Bean as a bad guy after his Lord of the Rings fame. Too bad the characters here are relatively one-dimensional so he didn’t have much to work with. As I always say, movies like this are easy on the mind and easy on the eye.
Finally, if you’re looking for movies like The Hitcher, you might wanna start with Joy Ride and Highwaymen. And then you can top things off with one of my favorite classics Death Proof starring Kurt Russel. If it’s blood you want, you’ll find it with Jeepers Creepers and Wolf Creek, and I promise I’ll stop with the movie recommendations now. Okay, I’ll just leave this glorious Subversive Rabbit selection of Movies About Driving worth watching and that’s it.
Director: Dave Meyers
Writers: Eric Red, Jake Wade Wall, Eric Bernt
Cast: Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, Neal McDonough
Fun Facts: The car Jim drives is an Oldsmobile 442. And the car Sean Bean playing John Ryder drives during the finale of the 2007 movie The Hitcher is a 1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
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IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455960/
