"Man-Thing" isn't a bad movie in the way that most Sci-Fi Pictures Original are. I know this because one of my favorite movies, "Dog Soldiers", suffered from the label of "Sci-Fi Pictures Original". Like "Dog Soldiers", "Man-Thing" is more than meets the eye - a slick Lion Gates film meant for theatrical release and dropped into the straight-to-video stack. Unlike "Dog Soldiers", "Man-Thing" really isn't that good.
"Man-Thing" is based on a Marvel comic book. The character was pretty much the precursor to DC Comics' hit "Swamp Thing" . . . the two are actually almost entirely identical. The difference is "Swamp Thing" eventually boasted the writing of Alan Moore and went on to make comic book history, leaving "Man-Thing" in the mothballs of comic book obscurity . . . until now . . . where its been resigned to the mothballs of movie history.
The problem is that "Man-Thing" isn't as much as movie about the Man-Thing as "Blade" is a movie about Blade. Instead, "Man-Thing" is about a bunch of flat stock characters who stumble around the grotesque swamp denzien for the duration of the movie.
In the comic book, Ted Sallis is a scientist-turned-monster who was transformed into a green pile of gobley-gook while trying to recreate the serum that first produced Captain America. The Man-Thing is a tragic figure who protects his swamp with a vague grasp of semi-intelligence. Unfortunately, all those who "fear" burn at the touch of the Man-Thing.
The problem with "Man-Thing" is that Ted Sallis' transformation is hardly addressed. We don't get a feel for the tragic soul at the heart of the material, and the very heart of most Marvel pictures. Instead, we just get a bumbling booger-covered Spawn who kills all people, innocent or not, when they enter the swamp at night. While never as poignant as Moore's Swamp Thing, the Man-Thing has been sadly reduced to the level of slasher horror.
The CGI looks very good, in comparison with the rest of Sci-Fi's latest offerings. The movie I watched with intercut with commercials of Sci-Fi's "The Fallen Ones", which showed poorly animated 42-foot mummies lumbering around, so I could see the difference rather easily. The Man-Thing looks particularly good in comparison. It is comforting to see that, at least on an aethetic sense, the filmmakers have stayed true to the look of the character, but not the spirit.
Over all, it was probably a good thing "Man-Thing" wasn't released to theaters. The only thing was would burn as a result of the Man-Thing's touch there would be eight bucks for a ticket, not the audience's fear.
"Man-Thing" is based on a Marvel comic book. The character was pretty much the precursor to DC Comics' hit "Swamp Thing" . . . the two are actually almost entirely identical. The difference is "Swamp Thing" eventually boasted the writing of Alan Moore and went on to make comic book history, leaving "Man-Thing" in the mothballs of comic book obscurity . . . until now . . . where its been resigned to the mothballs of movie history.
The problem is that "Man-Thing" isn't as much as movie about the Man-Thing as "Blade" is a movie about Blade. Instead, "Man-Thing" is about a bunch of flat stock characters who stumble around the grotesque swamp denzien for the duration of the movie.
In the comic book, Ted Sallis is a scientist-turned-monster who was transformed into a green pile of gobley-gook while trying to recreate the serum that first produced Captain America. The Man-Thing is a tragic figure who protects his swamp with a vague grasp of semi-intelligence. Unfortunately, all those who "fear" burn at the touch of the Man-Thing.
The problem with "Man-Thing" is that Ted Sallis' transformation is hardly addressed. We don't get a feel for the tragic soul at the heart of the material, and the very heart of most Marvel pictures. Instead, we just get a bumbling booger-covered Spawn who kills all people, innocent or not, when they enter the swamp at night. While never as poignant as Moore's Swamp Thing, the Man-Thing has been sadly reduced to the level of slasher horror.
The CGI looks very good, in comparison with the rest of Sci-Fi's latest offerings. The movie I watched with intercut with commercials of Sci-Fi's "The Fallen Ones", which showed poorly animated 42-foot mummies lumbering around, so I could see the difference rather easily. The Man-Thing looks particularly good in comparison. It is comforting to see that, at least on an aethetic sense, the filmmakers have stayed true to the look of the character, but not the spirit.
Over all, it was probably a good thing "Man-Thing" wasn't released to theaters. The only thing was would burn as a result of the Man-Thing's touch there would be eight bucks for a ticket, not the audience's fear.