Don Coscarelli should have never been given this film to make
I realize that Wong really likes Coscarelli and he's made some films that have somewhat cult followings but this film is a complete failure and should have never been given to Coscarelli to make. There, I said it.
I saw Phantasm (i could only make it through the first one). It sucks. I saw Bubba Ho-tep, watchable, slightly funny - it was ok. JDATE was an excellent novel. Coscarelli butchered it. The book has vivid detail that make it ideal for converting to the big screen. It was entirely possible to interpret it in a way that still held together the story from the book. The final product fails at this miserably while STILL providing subpar CGI that makes it feel like it was made in the 80's.
The strange thing is, I think Wong is completely aware of this, perhaps in denial or perhaps realizing that the damage is already done and there is nothing he can do but try to sell this POS to us, backpedaling quite a bit in interviews and on his JDATE facebook feed "Oh, I realize now that there is no way we could include every character without making this film 5 hours long". Could they have at least given us a proper introduction to Amy? She's integral to the book as well as the sequel. She comes off as unimportant in the film. How about explain why he's digging in the beginning of the film? It's really effin' important in the book. Someone who is actually good at converting a book to film would have been more appropriate. Someone who can bring to life an alternate universe on film would have been more appropriate. I'm not saying you need James Cameron, Steven Soderberg or ILM. There are a ton of young, hungry, talented filmmakers out there that could have made this happen and probably on the same budget.
I'm so annoyed. Not just because it was disappointing. But because I can't un-watch this film. It makes reading Spiders really difficult. Hopefully when the third book comes out, I will have long forgotten the JDATE: The movie.