Ice Castles

This movie had such great potential! They ruined it with fake drama, fake relationships, fake emotions. No one behaves like that! It's as if aliens put the movie together by copying the worst B movies ever made "oh, this is how people act". It's insulting! Watch the original! That one is enjoyable and won't hurt your eyes.

An ice skating romance from 1978 starring Lynn-Holly Johnson (in her film debut) & Robby Benson. Johnson is the toast of this small town as her skating prowess begs that she compete which she does wowing the crowd at the regionals & gaining the attention of a high profile instructor. Her hometown coach, played by Colleen Dewhurst, & her dad, Tom Skerritt, both push her towards that direction when she seems reluctant which reaps big rewards (in terms of attention since her new coach has enlisted the help of a newsman to do a series of profiles on her) as she unnerves the reigning champion on the ice. However when things are going her way, a freak accident (she trips over some cables while skating at night causing her to sustain a concussion which causes partial blindness) which sends her home in a funk ready to give up everything but when Benson reenters the picture (he's going through his own sports pains as he tries to get a hockey career going), he pushes her to forego her sight impediment to show the world she still has the goods. Not aging particularly well, this variation on the Rocky formula suffers from plot conventions which even when this film was made was feeling a bit long in the tooth w/every authority figure taking their turns to berate poor Johnson whenever her eyes would well up after a disappointment. Johnson, who did her own skating (a talent used again in the James Bond adventure For Your Eyes Only from 1981), is good for the type of role she's playing but one feels she's merely playing the colors of a part which are of the 'paint by numbers' variety. Benson is his usual wide eyed, innocent self (he was quite the movie star during the 70's & early 80's but most people will know him as the voice of Beast from Disney's Beauty & the Beast animated feature) who does what he can in a role which in retrospect feels specious & undetermined. This film would get a remake in 2010.

Watched this movie last night and was fairly disappointed. You would think that a remake should be better than the original. It lacked the intensity of the original and was quite dry in some parts. The main character "Alexis" played by Taylor Firth was well done, and possibly the only well played character in the whole of the 2010 Ice Castles movie. However Lynn-Holly Johnson from the original is AMAZING in the role of "Alexis" and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in this movie. All I can say is that if you enjoyed this remake, you will absolutely love the 1978 original Ice Castles. Yes it is a little out dated, but it is a wonderful movie and so much better than this one. My friends and I don't usually agree on movies, however we all agree that the 1978 version is sooo much better and we weren't even born when this movie came out. It is also a lot more believable than this 2010 version of Ice Castles. However a warning to parents out there, whilst this is still a great movie for the family, the kissing in the original is quite passionate and the little ones might say "Yuck!". Actually the feeling throughout the whole movie is raw and real. Please, go watch the original, this movie is a shadow of the original.

This is what happens when you make a "remade for tv" film and you leave out the soul. It is just another so-so attempt using b grade actors and c grade acting. Even the skating was just meh. All of the dialogue of the original with none of the heart.

The film is indicative of Hollywood's failure to produce original material, preferring to serve up remake after remake for a buck. Sadly, the story is good enough that had Donald Wrye, who also directed the original was given some decent actors, he may have been able to improve upon the original.

Finally... if you're going to update the soundtrack, make it different enough to notice or use Melissa Manchester's original... or better yet, invite her to record a new version.

So many choices... most of the poor.

This did not have the depth of characters, quality of acting, authenticity or pace that the original had. If you have seen the original, don't waste your time on this one. It will only disappoint. If you haven't seen the original, please watch that one instead of this. The Original was a beautiful movie, This one feels like an after school specail. The original is timeless and did not need to be remade. And the changes made in this remake only took away from the elements that really worked in the original and made this one feel rushed and surface. Not much more to say but I'm required 9 more characters to post this. Lol.