I was always a huge fan of the original The Thing, and I mean the Carpenter version,not the 1950s one. So I went into this with a lot of apprehension. Was it a remake? It has the same title. It was until I got halfway through that I began to see the genius of this movie. How it overlaps with the Carpenter movie.
The acting is great. Mary Elizabeth Winsteads first big movie was good. Although it got panned as a remake nobody understood, you needed to know carpenters version to understand this. Some of the CGI is bad, but it's 2011, so it's understandable. Joel Edgertons version of McCready was passable. This was his first big American movie as an Aussie, so he did well.
The comedy in it is hit and miss, but its where it is supposed to be.
All characters, although not fleshed out, didn't really need to be, as they are expendable, the focus is the creatures.
If you haven't watched this, do it, then watch Carpenters, this movie is a great lead into it.