What happens when the son of the devil is raised by an American politician and his young wife? Exactly what you'd expect: all hell breaks loose!

While I haven't seen the original Omen in a while, I remember a few key scenes clearly and I remember I liked it. This alone is enough to make me wonder why they remade it (why remake good movies when there are so many bad films to fix?). But they did good, keeping many scenes identical but making the story very 2006 appropriate.

My favorite thing about the film was the adaptation of the plot to fit around 9/11, and the space shuttle disaster, which were obviously missing from the original. This does seem to imply that American tragedies are more important than non-American ones, though. Many people really feel the apocalypse is coming, so this was an appropriate choice. I also like the move from English characters to Americans (though this really doesn't matter).

The demons were spooky and the new Damien is one goony looking little boy, which is great. I don't mind a Damien that looks like Batboy from the Weekly World News. The other actors were also decent: Mia Farrow, best known to horror fans from that other Satanic child film, "Rosemary's Baby", was the perfect nanny and Liev Schreiber has that level of fame that makes him great for starring roles of this sort (not too big to overshadow the film, but big enough to fill the shoes). See "Phantoms" if you don't believe me. The actors did many of their owns stunts, with Liev Schreiber even cracking a rib.

My biggest concern was Julia Stiles. I said to myself, "Self, this chick is known for over-acting in Shakespearean romances and teen comedies... can she tone it down enough for a horror film?" A few moments had Stiles poking her melodramatic head up out of the ground, but overall she played it straight and I think she was commendable.

The kid who played Damien in the original returns here as a reporter, but don't throw out your copy of the original Omen. But don't go out of your way to avoid this one, either. It is a solid horror film with more than competent directing and acting behind it.

Virtual scene-for-scene remake of the 1976 Omen film with the 21st century music video gloss that passes for cinematography now. That this was made by the same director who would later do the awful Max Payne and A Good Day to Die Hard should come as no surprise. John Moore is a director more focused on making a film look good than actually be good.

Did The Omen need to be remade? Of course not but such is the nature of the business. Before I start going on a diatribe about that, I'd better get back to this film and what's good or bad about it. What's good: some nicely staged scenes, but nothing particularly creative or original. For a director so obsessed with visuals, Moore offers little to improve upon the original's film's creative death set pieces. He just copies them. How creatively bankrupt is this man? As for the bad: the movie is plodding, unoriginal, often boring with no suspense or scares worth mentioning. Will viewers unfamiliar with the original film feel the same way? I think so unless these viewers are just generally unfamiliar with movies altogether. The cast is nothing to write home about. Julia Stiles tries and Liev Schrieber is dull as mud. Mia Farrow does fine with a performance that, judging by some of the praise I've seen, is a tad overrated.

Overall, it's yet another misfire remake of a superior film. Do yourself a favor and see the original instead. If you already have seen the original, watch something else. Something new or something old you haven't seen before. Just not another crappy horror remake.

As remakes go, this one of THE OMEN isn't half bad. It's well shot, with an attractive colour palette and good stunts to recommend it. Technical aspects are superior and a Macro Beltrami score adds to the experience. There are some quite horrific moments and some decent performances in the cast. Live Schreiber, an actor who I've never liked much, acquits himself well in the role of Robert Thorn; he's no Gregory Peck, but he makes a decent job of it. Julia Stiles is less assured in a somewhat bland turn as the put-upon mother, but the supporting cast make up for this. There's a raving Michael Gambon in a cameo role; a scary Mia Farrow, ageless and reminiscent of her role in ROSEMARY'S BABY as the creepy nanny, a scene-stealing Pete Postlethwaite as the mad priest, and best of all, a mannered and well-crafted turn from David Thewlis as the photographer played by David Warner in the original (Thewlis matches Warner's performance measure for measure).

My main complaint, as with so many remakes, is that this one follows the original too closely. A couple of deaths are changed, but for the most part it's exact. Where's the fun in that? Why couldn't we have had a happy ending for a change? Nevertheless, this OMEN is a good film, and very much better than OMEN IV, the last sequel before this. Some of the deaths are inventive and pleasantly shocking, and the new decapitation doesn't disappoint. Sometimes things threaten to get a bit like FINAL DESTINATION but for the most part this rises above the rest as a good, old fashioned horror thriller.