We voiced concern over this remake (as we did for 99% of all others) when it was first announced, and it looks like we might have had due concern.
News in from Empire on an interview with Mark Wahlberg tells us that things have indeed departed from the original script.
“I’m a cop. I’m actually Leo’s commanding officer and Matt Damon’s commanding officer. I can’t tell you what happens but I start killing people, left, right and centre. I play a crazy fucking psycho. They’re rewriting the script and my part right now, so…”
Have you noticed the subtle differences already? Empire point it out quite well when they say…
…Inspector Wong, who was in the same position in the Hong Kong film, completely failed to go crazy and kill everyone. In fact, he verged on the cuddly as he shepherded Tony Leung’s undercover cop-among-the-gangsters and unwittingly mentioned Andy Lau’s undercover-gangster-in-the-cops.
Different is hardly the word. So what can we expect now? Not a lot of the original I would think judging from the above. Now I know this is going to get some fans of the original upset, so feel free to comment. Does this bode well? Does Hollywood need to stop rewriting when they remake, or is it necessary to ensure success? Where can the Departed go now?
