In a game of one-upmanship, it’s good to have to two notoriously roguish and talented Limeys going mano-a-mano. This remake of “Slueth,” like the first 1972 film adaptation of Anthony Shaffer’s play, is intrinsically stage-bound and dialogue-heavy. It is set up that way, as a contest of wills between the cuckolded rich elder mystery novelist and the handsome ne’er-do-well lothario who is having an affair with his wife. No other major characters exist on screen to augment the ever-escalating — and farcically contrived — revenge scenario going on between them.
But there a few deliciously biting flashes of fun here, because Michael Caine and Jude Law happen to be the blokes in the roles. With director Kenneth Branagh and legendary writer Harold Pinter adapting this version for them, the piece continues to play as a most British affair. Caine is returning in the senior role after he portrayed the junior one in the original picture against Lawrence Olivier 35 years ago.
