The Thing

**_More of the same with a female protagonist, but well done_** An American paleontologist (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is recruited by a doctor and his assistant (Ulrich Thomsen and Eric Christian Olsen) to travel to a Norwegian base in Antarctica to examine a colossal craft buried under the ice and a nearby frozen specimen. They bring the latter into the base; big mistake. “The Thing” (2011) is a prequel to the Kurt Russell movie from 29 years prior. The ending fittingly paves the way for the 1982 film, which featured an all-male cast. This one attempts to “fix” that arguable issue with the inclusion of Winstead and another female character, but I wouldn’t look for romantic complications because this flick runs 6 minutes shorter than the ’82 film and so only has time to focus on the life-or-death challenges of the remote station. It's basically a re-do, just with a female protagonist à la “Alien” & “Aliens.” The laughable torso jaws return, but this shows faithfulness and consistency. The ’82 film is revered by devotees so this movie was never going to measure up in their eyes. However, it’s pretty much on par and I appreciate the presence of Winstead, plus it does do something different in the last act that I’m not going to give away. The film runs 1 hour, 43 minutes, and was shot at Pinewood Toronto Studios near the shore in Port Lands, as well as nearby Stouffville and the Canadian Forces Base in Trenton, the latter of which is a 2-hour drive east of Toronto. Exteriors were shot in British Columbia. GRADE: B