The Omen (2006)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Robert Thorn	Liev Schreiber
Katherine Thorn	Julia Stiles	½
Mrs. Baylock	Mia Farrow
Keith Jennings	David Thewlis	½
Father Brennan	Pete Postlethwaite	½
Bugenhagen	Michael Gambon
Damien	Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick	½

Review

In my opinion, to justify a remake, you should either base it on an original that is dated and inaccessible to the current viewers, or you should make the film through a different point of view or angle. Sadly, John Moore's cleverly marketed The Omen (premiering on a date full of sixes) is nothing more than a replica of Richard Donner's original. I suspect that David Seltzer was too proud of his screenplay to be willing to alter it significantly. But with that said, even with Seltzer's script, director John Moore could have brought some identity to the film. All we get is two updated scenes (both quite useful) and a handful of "cheat scares" (i.e. suddenly appearing images accompanied by ridiculously loud shrieking sounds).

The acting is fair, but rarely an improvement on the original. Liev Schreiber is dull in the lead, Julia Stiles have some impressive scenes (although she's far too young), whereas both David Thewlis and Pete Postlethwaite does fine work. Casting Mia Farrow as Mrs. Baylock was absolutely a good idea, and she gives her part some distinctiveness. That is, unfortunately, more than can be said about young Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. He's a cute kid, but his acting seems forced and far too self-conscious. He's never close to the level Harvey Stephens reaches in the original. That doesn't necessarily mean Stephens was a better actor, but I believe the director is very important in getting the best from kids this age in uncustomary roles. And Richard Donner is known for having a knack of just that. John Moore, on the other hand, gets only artificial evil from his Damien, and we're left with a predictable and unnecessary film.