I always get the jitters when a main actor/actress (in this case, Mark Harmon of N.C.I.S. fame as “Certain Prey’s” protagonist, Lucas Davenport) is also one of the movie’s “Executive Producers”. Executive Producers are usually money-people, financial backers, because they have a lot of it, and more often than not — if they happen to be actors or actresses — land big parts in the movie. Sometimes, that can be a good thing. But don’t count on it. Right from the opening scenes, it is terribly obvious “Certain Prey” Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief, Lucas Davenport was not going to be the author, John Sanford’s in-depth Lucas Davenport characterization we are all familiar with at all. Nope. Instead, this movie’s Lucas Davenport/Executive Producer is, uh — Mark Harmon, famous N.C.I.S. team leader turned character-actor in the flesh, fresh off the N.C.I.S. set. I swear, I kept waiting for the rest of the goofy N.C.I.S. cast to burst onto the screen.
“Certain Prey” is one of the most poorly-cast movies I’ve ever seen*. Period. The only character with even a smidgeon of the novel series’ authentic flavor is actress Athena Karkanis, who played the novels’ sultry sidekick cop, “Marcy Sherrill” character.
“Certain Prey” is a stinker. A real letdown. Here’s an online movie comment I fully agree with: “It sucked and then some…” Yep. It did that.
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Tim says: *Perhaps only to be eclipsed by an upcoming (author Lee Child) “Jack Reacher” novel movie, wherein the super bad-ass 6′ 5″ Jack Reacher charcter/protaganist is portrayed — amid a flurry of negative moviegoer criticism — by a wimpy 5′ 7″ Tom Cruise. More than likely, it will suck “and then some”, too.
Have been disappointed in books made into movies since reading and then seeing Papillon many years ago. Why do producers/movie writers think they can take a book that has become a classic and improve on it. Don’t they realize the reason a book is a “classic” is because it is so very good. Hallmark and Walt Disney totally disregarded the story in The Secret Garden. The Margaret O’Brien version is the only one that follows the book and I watch it every chance I get. Having read the Tarzan books, I despise the old movie versions (Me Tarzan, you Jane). Greystoke came close to the original. Tarzan of the books was not only articulate, but very wealthy. Having once drunk from the fountain of youth, he never aged and in the 26th book was a pilot in the RAF. So much more exciting and interesting than the Hollywood versions. Having vented, I will say that I do like Tom Selleck in the Jesse Stone TV movies.
I have been a Burroughs addict since I picked up my first Tarzan book at a library when I was in my early teens. What a wonderful writer. Then, onto the John Carter of Mars (Barsoom), series, and the rest of them: Pellucidar series, Venus series, Caspak (Land that Time Forgot) series and … well, on and on and on. Sadly, I have not seen the recent nefarious Walt Disney
all-time-worst-boxoffice-failure
“John Carter” ( https://www.google.com/search?q=john+carter+movie ), but I am sure that one day I will watch it, because a piece of me died the day it was released.–Tim