Takashi Miike may be prolific, but his consistency can be all over the map. Take for example "Shield Of Straw," his 2013 crime procedural/thriller which somehow nabbed a Cannes Film Festival competition slot, earned boos at our screening, and was a movie I called “ a thoroughly below average genre flick that’s empty on ideas and entertainment value." That said, somehow has seen it as good fodder for remake material, and I can’t say that a disagree — another attempt would only be an improvement.
Chris and Paul Weitz’s production company Depth of Field are teaming with Nippon Entertainment for an English language do over. The original told the story of two cops tasked with accompanying a child rapist to Tokyo to stand trial, only to have their efforts thwarted when the billionaire grandfather of one of the victims puts a winner take all bounty of $1 billion dollars on the criminals head. Soon the cops and criminals are under siege. So it’s a great premise, and while Miike didn’t do much with it, perhaps Hollywood can get it rightl.
That said, Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt ("London Has Fallen," "Olympus Has Fallen") are writing the script so don’t get too excited. A director has yet to be named. But hey, the stuff for a decent, popcorn ready B-movie is here if they get the balance of themes and action just right. [Deadline]