# The Hitcher (2007) - Movie Review



## Otto (May 18, 2006)

I watched the remake of "The Hitcher" last night with my wife.

If you've seen the original, you know that this movie is about a guy that's given a ride who then proceeds to terrorize the couple that's given him a ride.

It's been a long time since I've seen the original, but I'm pretty sure this movie didn't need to be remade. I believe that the original stands well-enought on its own and that it's not necessarily been long enough to do a remake -- it's "only" been 20 years! 

Sean Bean's performance as "The Hitcher" was OK. He was mean, creepy and unclearly motivated. One can definitely see echoes of Rutger Hauer's performance, as well as some physical attributes. The actors playing the young couple that picked him up were OK; it could have been worse. These were played by Sophia Bush and Jim Halsey, neither of which I have seen before (at least not that I know of). I suppose that their 21-year old ditzy type of attitudes are just the type of thing required to constantly keep them in harm's way, and therefore keep the movie going. Anyone just slightly smarter would have been out of this situation!

There were a few good surprise "bangs" and "booms" that got my wife to jump a bit. The blood and guts was not over-the-top as to turn off everyone, but enough to be used as a plot device.

Unfortunately, it was the plot holes that did the movie in. It was very much like watching a "Friday the 13th" movie -- the viewers start talking to the TV, saying things like "why would she go in there?" and "who could be more stupid?!?!" By the end, you're rooting for the Hitcher to kill the main characters... 

I'll go 2 out of 5 for the movie itself. Nice and short at 84 minutes.

I will say that there was some good bass during some shooting scenes. I think it was when the Hitcher was shooting at the cops and the helicopter. There was a reverberant pulse, somewhat like the "ring drop" scene in LOTR. There were a few other good bass moments as well. Some of the dialog was a little wispy, but I'm not sure if that's me or the movie. Overall, audio was pretty good. Not sure I'm ready to rate video quality, so I won't offer any comment on that.


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