FAHRENHEIT 451 - A REVIEW BY: vON kRAEMER

HBO what have you done? In a century of recycled sci-fi and story, HBO has sinned and blundered. Poor editing, non-sensical updating, and straying-off-target are the issues that will haunt you, the audience, and are surely the cludge rolling poor old Ray Bradbury over in his red-hot grave. We all agree a reboot might do wonders for an older story, by making the author's vision accessible to the new generations. However, what was obviously "an attempt" by the writers and producers to bring the Orwellian concept of "thought control" and "mind control" - by usurping history and literature - was dumbed down to the point that Bradbury's timely novel seemed to have been mere cliff notes, intermittently appearing in this slow and choppy iteration of the classic novel. A universal watchdog is added - not found in Bradbury's novel, and the projected info-massing is almost comical, in this dystopian future - rendered by the HBO production team. My impression is that production problems arose and the budget could not solve the gaps blatantly left-out in the storytelling; a combination of a rush production and moments left on the editing room floor - to fit a two-hour time format. One notes this is HBO! An independent mega Production Company - that could make and stream a 4 hour and 34-minute movie or project, should it wish to. Somehow the notion that HBO can call shots on length and story duration was lost - for reasons broken and forgotten. The Movie is a limbo monument; for the project rises about halfway to its potential and... hangs. Have nothing better to do? Watch 451 for the nostalgia, if you can find it within the mess. Otherwise, I would suggest sticking to Westworld, which manages to forward Michael Crichton's original movie to new and inspirational depths