Coupez!

I must admit that I did not have the greatest expectations for this because it is a remake of a Japanese film - One Cut of the Dead - so recent and with such quality. Still, in order not to have too many spare hours in my day, I decided to watch it. The story doesn't change much. A production team shoots a movie about zombies and then they start being attacked by zombies but... that's also part of the movie. Anyone who has seen the original knows that this ends up working well, being basically a comedy - with meaning and social messages included - about doing a lot with little in cinema. The film seeks to bring something new to the table, by using the original film, making it part of the same universe, which ends up encapsulating some of the novelties and more comical scenes of this remake, but still fails, as it replicates too many scenes that are not the film within the film, which ends up making little sense (for example, the director's motivations, his career, the various behind-the-scenes conversations...).

As in the original (which I loved much more on a rewatch), the first act is weird and doesn't work that well, but that's where the fun begins. The range of actors - which even includes the same actress playing the same character as in the original! - does an excellent job and it is clear that this is also a more expensive production than the Japanese one (which makes us wonder if it will go against the spirit of the original...?).

I confess that I don't quite understand why a renowned director - like Michel Hazanavicius - decides to make a remake of an acclaimed film that is only five years old. However, the truth is that Final Cut is quite funny. I would say just as or even funnier than the original. It is, even so - and despite trying some innovation by incorporating the first film into its universe - too close to the original in 80% of the scenes, so the advantage has to be given to the film that gave us something innovative.

'Final Cut' may be a rare case where the more you know going in the more you're likely to enjoy it. Because of the way the film is structured, the first 30 minutes are very sloppy and poorly put together. We as an audience don't know why yet, so we are just left to think that the whole film is going to be poorly made like this. There is of course a reason for this, which makes the film quite brilliant in the second half. But I fear this one could lose a lot of people in those early minutes, which would be a shame.

This is such a good idea for a movie. I understand it is a remake of a Japanese film with some clever tie-ins. I've often watched one-take films and thought about all the things that could (and potentially are) going wrong behind the scenes that we will never know about.

As I said, this isn't the worst film to know a thing or two about before going in. When I read the synopsis for the film it didn't sound like my thing at all. It really isn't anything like what is described there. This one was a lot of fun. 7.5/10.

Not normally too interested in remakes of films in other languages, but Artist director Hazanavicius being involved got me interested, and glad it did. There's a huge amount of fun to be had here - it is as much comedy as horror - with a great cast & director enjoying playing with the B movie concept of it all.

The opening chunk drops you right into the film being shot in a disused building, deliberately wrong-footing the viewer (also leaves you wondering why the French characters are all using Japanese names), only for the later two thirds of the film to show what we had been watching and put it all into context. It's a nice way to approach it and felt quite satisfying (to me, anyway). It may not be genius, but it is fun - make a good pizza night bit of viewing on a weekend.

Fun, smart, great actors. After "the Artist" and "la classe americaine", Michel Hazanavicius pay once again tribute to cinema, with honesty, talent and all his wit.

Of all, i am disgusted by the zombie genre, cause they are dead eating the living that dies wakes up into eating other living humans, and animals, there aint much space for the developement of new inklings and ideas..

so whats new here, well its french, and they try to make a comedy over an earlier feature movie called z, its all planned from the director in secretes, cause he wants the directors cut to be as real as possible, there are some gushing special effect and some one arm jacks that crawls around with or without its parentbody... and thats its.

Loads of well known french actors that play around with loads of blood and gore, but as it is x.mas day and the woodstick saltsmoked sheeprib meal(pinnakjøt in norwegian) from yesterday evening are still regurgitating my oesophagus, tingling the nether ends of my tonsilles that i ectomized many years ago, this is just meeehhh entertainment today. Almost 2 hours of panic and slash isnt food for a nearly braindead grumpy old man.