prior to this release and neil labute have this to say about the 1973 original represent it surprise how many people say it their favorite soundtrack . i be like and come on . you may not like the new one and but if that your favorite soundtrack and i do not know if i want you to like my film . neil and a word . you might want to sit down for this too while a lord summerisle say and shock be so much good absorb with the knee bent . see and neil and the thing about the original and be that paul giovanni soundtrack be one of the most celebrated thing about it . the filmmaker themselves consider it a virtual musical . along with richard and danny thompson and and bert jansch and it practically kick start the 1970s folk new wave . to undermine it be akin to imagine jaw without john williams . or the buddy holly story without buddy holly . the result one of the most breathtakingly arrogant and pointless remake of a british cult classic since sly stallone get carter . the original have apparently leave nicolas cage disturb for about two week . so disturbed and during that fortnight window and that he pitch the idea of re imagine one of the most nuanced film about inter faith struggle ever devise to a writer director previously know for his wholly unsubtle depiction of male chauvinism . it like some parlor game represent what would you get if sam peckinpah take on bambi . or gaspar irreversible noe remade love and actually . ( actually and i would quite like to see that ) . unfortunately and someone take this parlor game seriously represent all labute succeed in do be rip out the original gut while saddle it with his own gormless sex war preoccupation . after fail to rescue a little girl and her mum from a fatal car crash and cage highway patrolman spiral into a medicated torpor . then he receive a letter from ex fiancée willow woodward ( this one trade on name homage for kudos ) and now live on the private island community of summersisle that extra stand for uperfluous and want edward to help locate miss daughter rowan . summersisle and it transpire and be a female dominate joint and conceive a a haven for oppressed womenfolk and refugee from the salem witch trial . here and the matriarch observe the olde way and and the few male be near mute breed mule . it like lilith fair on a grand scale . summersisle main export be honey a symbolic and literal headache for edward and a he allergic to bee . beekeeper . cry edward . they seem to be everywhere on this island . well and that probably because summersisle main export be honey . while make his investigation and edward overhears of an oncoming mayday ritual call the time of death and rebirth . he discover the previous year crop fail while nearly dy from bee sting while and eventually come to the conclusion ( a conclusion which admittedly couldn not be more obvious if the local have tattoo a timetable of event on the back of his hand ) that rowan will be burnt alive in a pagan rite to ensure a bountiful harvest . he also meet the queen bee of the hive and sister summersisle ( burstyn ) and who have her own plan for him involve the eponymous wicker man represent the drone must die . first and the good news represent any concern cage would be airlift from the wicker man flame jaw at the last minute by a fleet of black cia helicopter can be lay to rest represent he toast . that about it for the good news . this be a story whose chapter be carefully write intones burstyn with sublime irony . though retain the basic cat and mouse premise ( and credit typography ) and what leave subject the original to a scorched earth policy . crucial to shaffer original screenplay be that his christian copper and in accordance with ritual and come to the island of his own free will and most importantly and be a virgin while the perfect sacrifice . in reduce matter to a sexual and a oppose to a religious power struggle and labute present the flimsy of qualifier for a harvest sacrifice . by the time cage have work out he be the bait and you honestly couldn not care less . and cage be one of the very bad thing in this while a lumbering and drawl donkey an arsewit whose tongue seem just slightly too big for his mouth . goddamit he moan after he hallucinate a drowned rowan and with all the mental torment of a man who set his morning alarm clock half an hour too early . one hop it his character frequent reliance on pill that have reduce him to this state alternately fatigue and then full of preppy and overbear vim . if so and it a fine portrayal of an undistinguished iq addle with anti depressant . if not it doesn not bear think about . a willow and the saucer eye beahan be similarly dreadful and present her line a if in competition with cage for the most half hearted delivery . while burstyn entirely lack the mercurial menace to convince . who afraid of naomi wolf . every element that make the original great the lovingly detailed depiction of folk custom and the ingenious score and the dialogue ( lord summerisle majestic you do it beautifully . have be replace with the rather less attractive you do it excellently . whoah and dude . ) have be substitute for a meandering battle of the sex thriller with occasional crash bang wallop . namely and wallop woman while this be a labute flick and after all . cage sister beech bashing be just one of the more embarrassing episode while impotent little men will be hoot with glee at how them uppity hippie chick finally get what be comin to em and hyuk hyuk . the closing coda see the whole rotten mess collapse under the weight of genre cliché represent in a bar and two guy run into a couple of summersisle maiden on shore leave and flirty fishing for fresh martyr . at the moment of their successful pick up and you half expect the woman to turn round and give an exaggerated wink and a thumb up to the camera . one more thing represent keen credit watcher may have notice that film sport an unusually high producer count ( anything up to 10 ) tend to be not much cop . the wicker man have 18 producer in total .