Years after it was first announced that a Straw Dogs remake is in the works, X-Men actor James Marsden has been cast in the lead role, which was originated on film by Dustin Hoffman in Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 version. While many complainers are focusing on Marsden’s involvement, others are taking this opportunity to whine more generally about the film being remade in the first place. When I first responded to the idea two years ago, I was mostly worried that writer-director Rod Lurie would try to one-up the original in terms of the violence, since torture porn was still kind of hot at the time. But apparently Lurie’s film won’t actually be as much of a gratuitous spectacle of rape and defense killings as is the controversial first film.

Personally, I never need to rewatch Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs anymore than I need to see Haneke’s Funny Games (either version), Alexandre Aja’s remake of The Hills Have Eyes or any other such film that’s so violent towards women. It’s certainly not a sacred film in my mind, so I couldn’t care less if anyone wants to recycle or reimagine the material. I do wonder, though, why Lurie doesn’t just title his version differently if it is indeed going to be unlike Peckinpah’s film. Why not go with the title of the source novel, “The Siege of Trencher’s Farm”? Or simply work from scratch. There have been so many other unrelated home-invader thrillers since Straw Dogs anyway.

Check out other bloggers’ complaints or defenses of Lurie’s plans after the jump:

• Simon Dang at The Playlist is upset with this latest news as well as the project as a whole. But does he really think Marsden is playing Hoffman?:
  

  The whitebread milquetoast of James Marsden playing Dustin Hoffman, in a remake of a controversial and acidic Sam Peckinpah classic about wimps and the savage nature of man? Sacrilege!

  Yes, that vile idea of a “Straw Dogs” remake is actually moving forward and we weep.

• Brad Brevet at RopeofSilicon tries to wish the whole thing away, believing “this remake will be all guts and no thinking.”:
  

  Good lord, talk about an absolutely needless remake. I consistently see the updated release date for the Rod Lurie written and directed remake of Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs and I continue to say to myself, I don’t believe it will ever happen. The most recent release date is set for August 13, 2010 and it appears no matter how much I talk to myself, it isn’t going to stop this runaway train from derailing into a cinema near you.

• Scott Von Doriak at The Screengrab also wishes this wasn’t happening:
  

  I wish I could say it was still April Fool’s Day, but as much as I’ve tried to convince myself this isn’t happening…it is, in fact, happening. Writer/director Rod Lurie is going ahead with his remake of Straw Dogs, and he’s found his star. And it is…drum roll…incredibly bland James Marsden!

• Alex Billington at First Showing is down with the choice of Marsden in the lead:
  

  I always thought he was just an asshole in X-Men, but later found out that he’s an incredibly talented actor. Straw Dogs definitely seems like an odd change of pace for him, from his past few bright, cheerful films to something much darker. I’m not sure that too many people are that excited for this remake, but at least they have a very talented actor who will lead the way.

• Mike Sampson at JoBlo is similarly pleased with the casting:
  

  For all of us who’ve appreciated the work of criminally underused actor James Marsden, your patience has paid off…The film should be a welcome stretch for Marsden who’ll be able to show off the chops that have shined through in movies like ENCHANTED and HAIRSPRAY (though on an entirely different level).

• Elisabeth Rappe at MTV Movies Blog is also down, but she’s concerned for people familiar with Marsden’s image:
  

  Moviegoers know James Marsden as a big screen boy scout thanks to roles in “X-Men,” “Enchanted,” “27 Dresses” and “Superman Returns.” But he’s just taken a role that will turn that image on his head…Marsden’s good looks and gentle career thus far really does lend itself to the role, and he will certainly shock a lot of “Enchanted” fans expecting something heroic.

• Monika Bartyzel at Cinematical is wishy washy in her reaction to the casting:
  

  I have to admit it; I’m kind of intrigued. It’s not that I want a remake (I almost never do), but I really want to see what Lurie is doing with this…I can’t decide if this is a move of genius, and something that could set the actor on more of a Hoffman path than a rom-com and annoying eye-zapper path, or if this is just another reason to ignore this remake.

• Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere points out a reason why Lurie’s version should go with the original title:
  

  Rod Lurie, director-writer of the upcoming Straw Dogs, naturally doesn’t want his film to be compared too precisely to Sam Peckinpah’s original 1971 version. So he’s cast the very un-Dustin Hoffmanish James Marsden (next in The Box) in the husband role. Hoffman’s character was a dweeby mathmetician but Marsden’s is a big-city writer, as was the original character in the book, The Siege at Trencher’s Farm.

• Devin Faraci at CHUD wonders why Lurie has cast Marsden, a seemingly “terrible choice” for the part, who “played Prince Charming in Enchanted for fuck’s sake!” His interesting, yet admittedly unlikely theory:
  

  Now, I haven’t read the script, and all I know about the remake is in that interview I linked, but wouldn’t it be interesting if Lurie swapped more than the countries? What if Marsden is Susan George? What if he’s the one who gets raped, Deliverance-style (and what if, a la Susan George in the original, he likes it?)? What if the female lead is actually the Dustin Hoffman character, and she’s the one who gets pushed to the edge?

• Mark at I Watch Stuff has some other ideas for the remake he refers to as “Home Alone for adults.”
  

  Now might I suggest the Blue Collar Comedy Tour crew as the savage locals? Those guys breaking into a home, Bill Engvall violently wielding “your sign” of his “Here’s your sign” bit fame, would be so terrifying. And who wouldn’t want to see Larry Cable Guy get hot oil thrown across his face and exposed arms? Get THAT done, mofo! Standing ovation time.

• Kristopher Tapley at In Contention gets the last word for sharing information he received straight from Lurie about how and why his film will be totally different:
  

  Bottom line, I’m glad Lurie’s doing what he wants to do.  In this age of remakes aimed at cashing in, I think it’s safe to say reworking a 38-year-old thriller that no one particularly loved when it was released is nothing if not a passion project, so good on him for doing what he wants to do.