Coma (2012)

Too much of everything

I wanted to but couldn't!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Awesome Movie

The original is more disturbing both visually and psychologically, despite being made in 1978. But this film, complete with high-tech horror effects and a psychotic performance from Ellen Burstyn, is a keeper. I watched both parts and found it a bit strange why they didn't just release it as a single film. I had the same technical confusion with Bag of Bones with Pierce Brosnan. You do have to seriously suspend some disbelief. While the original has its moments of cheese, and dated 70s gimmicks, it is far more believable than this one. Characters are relentlessly picked off in the most public of places and no one notices. An entire unit of gore and horror lurks in the bottom of a shady medical center and yet, despite a video clip of such horrors being on Youtube, no one issues a warrant to search the place. The victims of the conspiracy in the original were more elaborated upon (including an empathetic and very young Tom Selleck who meets his end in OR 8). Here, the victims are seen after surgery in their comatose states, so we have no connection to the human being who once was conscious and lived. The film underuses a very talented case, which includes James Woods, Geena Davis, and Lauren Ambrose. Their characters needed to be seriously elaborated on. Someone was having too much fun with the FX and not with the emotional meat which was desperately needed. It's more outrageously inventive than the original, but far less plausible or thought out. It's a fun, frightful romp that definitely is a grisly charmer and one to keep though.

--SPOILERS! -- I loved the original "Coma" with Bujold and Douglas, and I liked this version, too. Or would have liked it. It was a bit slow-paced, and could have done without the bizarrerie associated with the obviously mental guy who was chasing Susan around, but other than that, it was well-acted and great fun to watch -- that is, until the character of the evil head of the Jefferson Institute was shown praying the Rosary. I mean, really?! Any Catholic who's Catholic enough to pray the Rosary would know that Church teaching prohibits doing evil so that good can come from it, would know that murder is a sin, would understand very well that one doesn't put people into comas in order to conduct medical experiments on them, and so forth, so why, WHY, did the powers-that-be just have to make that character a "Catholic"? Haven't we had enough of this sort of nonsense? Why does Hollywood have to constantly poke at Christians -- Catholics in particular? Would the director have gone out of his way to depict that character wearing a Star of David or as an obvious practitioner of Islam? Why is it not OK to do that to folks of religions other than Christianity? Why is Christianity singled out for this sort of treatment?I am sick of this sort of thing. It really is disgusting. And it's too bad, too, with regard to this particular movie because, as I said, it was otherwise enjoyable. Sigh.

I unlike the other reviewer found the original story quite intriguing as the medical aspects were very accurate and the setting plausible. However, this rework of the story starts interesting but there are way too many distractions that add nothing to the details or complexity of the story. Yes, the large corporate conspiracy is a decent throw-in for Hollywood but others were too much and add little to the quality of the story such as the psycho killer, the floppy haired lead (and by the way in a medical setting floppy hair would not be allowed even by a medical student! It would be required to be cut or kept out of the face/eyes at all times due to health concerns), the crooked police, and quarreling cut-throat medical students (which should be residents to be more accurate).I think taking the original story and updating the technology and possible corporate profit areas would have been plenty (this part was done nicely with the genetic component which was only addressed in the original by the tissue typing for the needed organ).So, take a good story and inject Hollywood and you get what the "Mavericks of Silicon Valley" call the poison pill. It's a good reason why viewers are turning to the subscription channels for high quality programming.Bottom line, nice try but better luck on the next one.

One would have thought that something produced by Ridley Scott, who directed Alien and Blade Runner, would have been tightly knit. It wasn't. The movie totally drags during the first half and the first hour of the second half. This, like the original, should have been a two-hour film. I was bothered from the start when during the first commercial break, there were cast interviews revealing what was going to happen. The only thing really interesting were the special effects towards the end. Fortunately, I recorded it and was able to use fast forward or I, too, might have lapsed into a coma from having to sit through all of the initial tedium.