Scorsese's 1991 "Cape Fear" Still Outshines Apple TV+'s New Series

Full text

When people ask, "Does this really need to get remade?" it often refers to things such as Cape Fear, the new Apple TV series based on three existing source materials: the novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald, the 1962 film by J. Lee Thompson, and the 1991 film by Martin Scorsese. The new series, starring Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, and Patrick Wilson and adapted for the small screen by Nick Antosca, has been relatively well received, but the general enthusiasm feels muted. As well-acted and constructed as the series is, it pales in comparison to Scorsese's ingenious adaptation work in his remake starring Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis, which laid the groundwork for Apple's Cape Fear. Being fascinated by the moral grey, Scorsese's movie wisely blurred the lines between good and evil, which differed from the thrilling but simplistic original film starring Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck.