Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A fair movie, but an inept remake, July 9, 2007
Jude Law is a fine actor and does his usual excellent job in this remake. If you've never seen the original you'd probably think it was a decent enough movie. But if you've seen the original, with Michael Caine, you'd be wondering why they bothered to make this in the first place- especially the butchered version that resulted.
Like a lot of latter day remakes, this is very much a prettified version of the original. All of Law's conquests have model good looks- as does Law himself, for that matter. He's also a good deal more refined, in accent and in manners, unlike Caine's rather crude Cockney. He moves about in beautiful surroundings. And that loses an essential element of the setting of the novel. Alfie did not live in a beautiful world, and his conquests were not necessarily beautiful women; in large part they were women whom someone else desired- and that was what compelled him to seduce them.
Caine's (and the novel's) Alfie exploited weak women; for whatever reason, the director, or perhaps the producers, decided this Alfie's conquests had to be modern, strong women who use him as much as he uses them. That of course makes Alfie a good deal less of a cad; Jude Law's Alfie is not leaving behind the wrecked lives that Caine's did, and he becomes almost sympathetic at one point- a sentiment completely absent in the book and the original movie.
In the end, this version misses the essential Alfie- his inability to recognize flaws in himself, even as he rationalizes his actions and convinces himself that he's doing the right thing. The result is a shallow character study completely lacking the depth and impact of the original.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Why Does Hollywood Keep Doing this????, August 9, 2005
Why does Hollywood keep making remakes of classics that cannot possible be improved upon? This is a Shallow, tepid, very poor remake compared to the Michael Caine, 1966 original. The performances, especially Jude Law (who is usually excellent in film) are a disappointment. The direction is uneven and stilted. There are offensive scenes. I will stick with the 1966 original and forget this mess.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Alfie - New & Improved, April 19, 2007
I had only seen Jude Law in two films prior to this one and was instantly intrigued by this sexy Brit. If you're expecting a romantic comedy, you're out of luck with this one but it's still a decent movie.
Alfie's a smooth talking Londoner in New York who does his very best to avoid succumbing to the dreaded 'c' word commitment. Along the way, we're introduced to some of his ladies on the go - Dorie, Julie, Liz and Nikki, to name but a few.
Alfie, a chauffeur, lives in a small Manhattan apartment and dedicates his life to seducing women. Talking directly into the camera, and preening with a self-satisfaction so complete as to seem a form of innocence, he expounds on clothes, the proper application of cologne and the various rules he employs in his libidinous pursuits. His goal, it seems, is to have sex with as many women as possible but to get close to none of them.
Each one starts off as a fling, but somehow manages to influence Alfie's life. He slowly starts to realize that he is actually alone and that there is more to life than what he has done so far.
Would I recommend it? Definitely. Although remakes do not usually come through smelling of roses, this one does. It's fresh, colourful and funny. Jude Law is magnificent, introducing us to a slightly warmer side of Alfie than Michael Caine.
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