Sci-Fi flicks that are remakes today can take advantage of superior special effects technology like War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still. But to really set them apart from the originals they make changes to the plot.
So what excuse does anyone have for remaking a none sci-fi movie? I ask this because it is said that Jackie Chan has been chosen to play Mr. Miyagi in a remake of The Karate Kid. I am sure a lot of people are saying "Wow! Cool! Jackie will be great!" And I ask why? Why remake a film that is undeniably a classic and spawned 3 sequels? What do the producers hope to add besides star power? Jayden Smith, son of Will and Jada, may get the part of Daniel so this version of the movie will not be lacking name recognition.
Remakes, like sequels have a mixed hit/miss history. Some remakes turn out better than the original, The Omega Man was better than The Last Man on Earth, you decide if I Am Legion was better than Omega Man. Some are worse like Rob Zombie's version of Halloween. Some are so different that they only share a name with the original film like 13 Ghosts.
Kids films are not exempt from the phenomenon. It seems in the last few years they have done remakes of many of old school favorites like Flubber and the Shaggy Dog(D.A.) In each case "updating" the story to make it more appealing to today's kids. And if you think that isn't necessary, try getting todays kids to sit through the originals.
So where does that leave us? I guess the quest for more money will always drive some producer or diredctor to remake an old film. Often the determination of whether it is "better" than the predecessor is in the eye of the beholder.
What do you think? Do you have a favorite film with a horrible remake? How about a remake favorite that was better than the one before? Let me know in the comments.
1 comment:
Man, I'm with you (I am mexican, so my english is not very well). In fact, I looked for a reason to make "remakes", ha ha, that sounds terrible, but I think this: more than a stupid way to earn sure money, is messing with the cultural richness (is that right wrote?). For example: Taxi. You saw that pathetic movie about a black female NY taxi driver and his stupid police friend? well, the original movie is french and the humor, more than different, is delicious, very best than american one in that horrible remake. I think that is money the only reason for produce these crap and against money, nobody can do anything.
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