Omen - La nouvelle malédiction

I'm never one to praise acting, as GREAT acting is always very subjective. However, at the very base requirement, you know an actor's done his/her job when you watch a movie and subliminally take for granted that he/she actually IS the person you see on screen, rather than an actor playing a character. *That* is the mark of a decent actor doing his/her job, earning his/her keep. That's all you need to do. Greatness beyond that base is subjective.

This movie fails at that basic premise of the craft. The movie fails to engage you into the characters. (As explained by the fact that the main characters are played by non-professional actors. Boy-band singers, no less.) Because of that, the more dramatic elements of the film felt completely contrived and, in short, like a joke.

There are a lot of good things to say about many low production value movies, ie. many independent movies. 'Omen', however, felt like a high-school project started at the last minute, filmed with a high-school allowance. The story was too contrived, to the point it was farcical. A few people in the viewing audience actually laughed when the plot-twist was revealed. (Many of us just sighed with exhaustion.) It felt like the writers (as accomplished and lauded as they are) felt they HAD to put a twist in there for it's own sake: convoluting just to surprise the audience rather than making a decent story.

I hate to dog on a movie, but this one I feel I have to warn people to stay away from.

It earns one star for having a decent premise (a mysteriously prophetic woman, albeit, somewhat cliché) which had so much potential, only to be floundered on silly casting/acting, an excessively contrived story and production values that would make a Visual Arts D-grade student cringe.

Danger Will Robinson, Danger!