Search - Alfie (Special Collector's Edition) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/13/2023...

You wanted to like this but it just never got there even will all the well-known actors. They tried too hard and ended up with artificial acting. Watch if you must but there is better stuff out there.

A fair movie, but an inept remake

Michael J Edelman | Huntington Woods, MI USA | 07/09/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Jude Law is a fine actor and does his usual excellent job in this remake. If you've never seen the original you'd probably think it was a decent enough movie. But if you've seen the original, with Michael Caine, you'd be wondering why they bothered to make this in the first place- especially the butchered version that resulted.



Like a lot of latter day remakes, this is very much a prettified version of the original. All of Law's conquests have model good looks- as does Law himself, for that matter. He's also a good deal more refined, in accent and in manners, unlike Caine's rather crude Cockney. He moves about in beautiful surroundings. And that loses an essential element of the setting of the novel. Alfie did not live in a beautiful world, and his conquests were not necessarily beautiful women; in large part they were women whom someone else desired- and that was what compelled him to seduce them.



Caine's (and the novel's) Alfie exploited weak women; for whatever reason, the director, or perhaps the producers, decided this Alfie's conquests had to be modern, strong women who use him as much as he uses them. That of course makes Alfie a good deal less of a cad; Jude Law's Alfie is not leaving behind the wrecked lives that Caine's did, and he becomes almost sympathetic at one point- a sentiment completely absent in the book and the original movie.



In the end, this version misses the essential Alfie- his inability to recognize flaws in himself, even as he rationalizes his actions and convinces himself that he's doing the right thing. The result is a shallow character study completely lacking the depth and impact of the original."

Surprisingly dissapointing

T.T. | MovieLand | 07/21/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"i am a fan of jude law and think he's very handsome. i was also excited to watch this movie (and see sienna miller who was emerging as the "it" girl when this came out). i saw the previews and on-set pics for Alfie and thought it would be good. unfortunately it was boring. it just had no spark. it was lackluster. and for some reason jude law's speech is a bit incomprehensible (guess it's his accent). the people i watched it with kept saying "what did he just say?" that makes the movie difficult to follow b/c Alfie is the one narrating the movie. only when sienna entered it got a bit exciting, but even then it wore off and went back to being dull. i don't know what went wrong with the movie. maybe they need to try it again in a few years."

Alfie - New & Improved

A. Vegan | Ontario Canada | 04/20/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I had only seen Jude Law in two films prior to this one and was instantly intrigued by this sexy Brit. If you're expecting a romantic comedy, you're out of luck with this one but it's still a decent movie.

Alfie's a smooth talking Londoner in New York who does his very best to avoid succumbing to the dreaded 'c' word commitment. Along the way, we're introduced to some of his ladies on the go - Dorie, Julie, Liz and Nikki, to name but a few.

Alfie, a chauffeur, lives in a small Manhattan apartment and dedicates his life to seducing women. Talking directly into the camera, and preening with a self-satisfaction so complete as to seem a form of innocence, he expounds on clothes, the proper application of cologne and the various rules he employs in his libidinous pursuits. His goal, it seems, is to have sex with as many women as possible but to get close to none of them.

Each one starts off as a fling, but somehow manages to influence Alfie's life. He slowly starts to realize that he is actually alone and that there is more to life than what he has done so far.

Would I recommend it? Definitely. Although remakes do not usually come through smelling of roses, this one does. It's fresh, colourful and funny. Jude Law is magnificent, introducing us to a slightly warmer side of Alfie than Michael Caine."