MovieChat Forums > Starbuck (2012) Discussion > The remake was less bad. Here's why:

The remake was less bad. Here's why:


http://vits-ingthemovies.blogspot.com/2014/08/starbuck-vs-delivery-man .html

Any thoughts?

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I don't agree with a lot of the assumptions/interpretations you make here.

First, I don't know what your personal family situation is, but if you discover that you've given life to a child, I don't know how you could NOT feel a bond with them when you meet them for the first time. Your child is a little different than say, a long-lost uncle or cousin - it's someone that YOU are responsible for existing in the world. And if you've gone 20 years without ever knowing them, without ever influencing them, surely you must feel some guilt and want to make up for lost time. That is entirely plausible to me.

Second, as for it being "mathematically impossible" because of the sheer number, well we only see him look at a handful of the sheets and visit the same few kids over and over. We don't know if he spent time with the others. In fact, it looks more like he *didn't* get to know most of them from his reactions.

Also, I don't know why you assume he has a "regular parent/child connection with each of his children". What do you base that on? The brief hugs in the hospital? I don't think his life is going to be a bed of roses after this. After the honeymoon period wears off, he'll probably have some trouble getting along with a lot of them. But the film ends before that time, so we leave the theater happy.

Overall, to give this film one star out of five is ridiculous. It's a pretty original concept, the production values seem solid and it's easy to identify with the main character despite the crazy premise. A rating of one star should be reserved for those films that are so intolerable that you can't even bear to sit through to the end. (And "Delivery Man" is a shot-for-shot remake, so I'm not sure why it would get a different rating. You're just watching actors say the same lines in a different language.)




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if you've gone 20 years without ever knowing them, without ever influencing them, surely you must feel some guilt and want to make up for lost time.

Oh, absolutely. But that's not a bond or connection, because it's not mutual.
I don't know why you assume he has a "regular parent/child connection with each of his children". What do you base that on? The brief hugs in the hospital? I don't think his life is going to be a bed of roses after this. After the honeymoon period wears off, he'll probably have some trouble getting along with a lot of them. But the film ends before that time, so we leave the theater happy.

I didn't assume it because that's what the movie showed. I'm sure your theory of what will happen next is correct, but that's not the note the movie ends on.
to give this film one star out of five is ridiculous. It's a pretty original concept, the production values seem solid and it's easy to identify with the main character despite the crazy premise. A rating of one star should be reserved for those films that are so intolerable that you can't even bear to sit through to the end.

1) That's actually a big problem with modern movies, specially Hollywood blockbusters: All the creativity goes to the premise instead of the execution.
2) The production values ARE solid, which is how one can tell it's a theatrical release. But are any of them award-worthy? Not I.M.H.O.
3) The character IS easy to identify with, but why do say "despite"?
4) The movie was so unfunny and overlong that I was bored out of my mind. It was hard to watch from beginning to end.
"Delivery Man" is a shot-for-shot remake, so I'm not sure why it would get a different rating. You're just watching actors say the same lines in a different language.

I said it in the review: The performances.

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