I did watch it last night. The upside is that it kept me watching. That's rare because most movies nowadays can't seem to overcome my short attention span. And so I usually watch movies in two parts. But I think it may have been mostly because I was constantly watching for parallels to the original film and thus it kept me actively engaged. I would therefore call the 2019 version of Jacob's Ladder a must-see for those who liked the original. What it's like for those who haven't seen the original, I can't really say. There are enough twists and turns to maybe make it confusing, because it constantly shifts, through the eyes of Jacob, the protagonist, between the normal and paranormal; and it is thus for the viewer to keep it all sorted out. In any case, I would definitely say the remake of Jacob's Ladder has both strong anti-war and anti-drug themes. Yet, it will leave those craving a more conspiratorially themed X-File lacking. Rather, and to me surprisingly, key elements are more altruistically framed and a large part of the responsibility for what happens during the film is even shifted onto the protagonist. And that aspect, I think, is really a reflection of the social and political undercurrents of our times.
