If you, like me, were blown away by 2017’s “One Cut of the Dead,” you’ll have been surprised to learn that there was indeed a French language remake right down the pipeline. I’ll admit that I was very annoyed by this news, but everyone’s experience making movies is different and this story translates well to any one that has endured making art. “Final Cut” when all is said and done is a very good remake of the 2017 original. It’s funny and clever, but it never quite hits the emotional highs and sincerity that Shin’ichirō Ueda’s original ever does.
Like the original, “Final Cut” is set in an abandoned locale where a group of filmmakers are making a zombie movie. Before long they are attacked by actual zombies. We then shift back one month before where we meet Remi (Romain Duris), a hack director whose motto is “fast and cheap.” He is recruited by his producer Mounir (Lyes Salem) to film a one-take 30-minute zombie film for a new genre channel Z. Unfortunately everything that can go wrong goes wrong, as cast members clash, props fail, and the crew develop horrible food poisoning.
“Final Cut” shifts back and forth to explore the process of making this movie and for most part it works, even when it takes liberties. This time the crew is adapting a Japanese script, and the producer (Yoshiko Takehara) is insistent on keeping the names, despite the film being made in France. This works beautifully as “Final Cut” acknowledges its place as a remake. I think though this works to benefit it as a potential companion piece. You don’t have to watch the original to enjoy “Final Cut” but I’d recommend it, if only to garner the full flavor of this hilarious, shockingly wholesome story.
There’s also a hilarious new gag with the movie’s sound coordinator (Jean-Pascal Zadi is hilarious) who has to improvise a lot of the score based on the mishaps. Director and writer Michel Hazanavicius thankfully doesn’t break what isn’t broken, as he keeps mostly faithful to what made the original movie so great. That said, the movie never quite hits the emotional notes that “One Cut” did, even when it embraces the whole idea of filmmaking as a community work of love, and whatnot. Also the original thirty minute prologue for the movie doesn’t work all that well because director Hazanavicius doesn’t play it as deadpan as the original.
I did laugh a lot, nevertheless, and I also quite enjoyed a lot of the performances. Romain Duris is especially good as the filmmaker who has given up trying to be considered a respectable director, but somehow views this film as a feat he must accomplish. “Final Cut” is not as good as Shin’ichirō Ueda’s original, but it’s still an entertaining remake that’ll grab some hearty laughs.
I’m assuming it’s only a matter of time before we get our American interpretation.
Opens exclusively in theaters on Friday, July 14th, including the IFC Center in New York and the Laemmle Noho in Los Angeles.