We’ve seen so many movie remakes, or “reboots” as Hollywood likes to call them, but when it comes down to these films being made by the Hollywood know-it-all, do we really want them and do we need films that are only a few years old or being in another language being remade.
I’ve always loved film and for me there are films that are perfect as they are, even if their special effects may be a little dodgy or the acting isn’t on par with today’s movies, but isn’t that the thing that makes them what they are and why they are good in the first place.
Over the last few years we’ve had a spate of movie remakes hitting the big screen, some from old TV series and some from films that aren’t even that old, I’ve reviewed many here on Blazing Minds and though some have been very good, they still beg the one word question, why?
Movie Remakes Heading Our Way On The Big Screens
So let’s get started with a list of just few of the movies that will be getting the “remake” treatment, you may be surprised with a few of them, some you may already know about and some you will say “Why the hell are they remaking that?”
Timecop
The 1994 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme is up for a remake, seriously the film is only 19 years old, it really that long since the story of a time travelling cop hit the cinemas, well yes it is. Timecop spawned a sequel, which was awful and a short-lived TV series in 1997.
But the decision has been made that one of Van Damme’s most popular movies is to be rebooted, I have heard that this new version will not include Van Damme and will also follow the Dark Horse comic more closely.
Batman
Now this ones seems to be a rumour at the moment, but as we’ve only just had the Dark Knight trilogy in cinemas with the most recent “The Dark Knight Rises”, it seems crazy that Batman would be rebooted so soon.
But the rumour is doing its and 2017 has been mentioned for the release as a new Batman will be in Justice League released in 2015, so it’s inevitable that a one of Batman will follow in 2017.
Whether the rumours are true is another matter, but with the history of The Batman, he’s always been a success in comic book form, animation and live action, so only time will tell.
Poltergeist
A movie which scared the hell out of me in the 80’s, not only was it creepy, but I never let my TV go in to that “no signal” picture when the broadcast had finished, we don’t get that any more since TV stations almost run for 24 hours.
From what I can gather there seems to be two thoughts on Poltergeist, one is that it’s going to be a reboot and will keep the storyline and few key elements of similarity to the original.
The other is that it will be a sequel, not entirely sure how that would work as Poltergeist has already had several sequels, so maybe it will be a reboot, but isn’t Poltergeist another one of those many horror movies that is left well alone, remember the alleged Poltergeist curse!
The Crow
Now this is one that has really got me mad, why would Hollywood in their wisdom want to remake/reboot one the most amazing films going, a film that has fans screaming at the top of their voices “NOoooooo”.
Back in 1994 Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, donned the face paint and became one of the most iconic characters in the 90’s, based on the 1989 comic book by James O’Barr. Sadly Brandon Lee died before he could see the finished film.
For me The Crow is just fine the way it is, with its superb soundtrack featuring some amazing alternative rock bands and music by Graeme Revell which was not included on the soundtrack but on a separate “score” album.
The film also spawned four sequels and I say that loosely as they wasn’t a patch on the Brandon Lee movie, also a TV series was released.
Luke Evans, last seen in Fast & Furious 6, has got the lead role in The Crow reboot, I’m not overly sure about this one, I suppose the only good news is that it will be based on the comic book by James O’Barr, we will see.
Jurassic Park
Originally the news was that Jurassic Park 4 was going to be a return to the original island and that it was all going to kick off again, doesn’t it always with those dinos!
Then more recently the news came out that number 4 wouldn’t be a sequel but a reboot of the very first film, really! The issue I have with this one is that the first one was good enough, the special effects were state of the art at the time and it worked well and still does today.
So why remake the film? Well it seems the technology has moved further on and Hollywood maybe wants to have an excuse to show people what can be done with it now, but seriously, we all know what CGI can do, we know what it can do, we don’t need a reboot of this one or maybe we do, who am I to say!!
Robocop
You’ve got to love Robocop, no seriously you do, another 80’s film that has an 18 certificate, mainly down to the amount of violence that it features, directed by Paul Verhoven and starring the legendary Peter Weller, it’s the story of a cop left for dead and then becomes Robocop!
The original film was great, but it spawned several sequels and TV series, which was comical at times, but none of them really topped the first outing of Robocop.
So now we have a new Robocop on its way, due for release in 2014 and starring Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Joel Kinnaman as Robocop.
The only question for this version of Robocop, is it going to be as violent as the 80’s version or more violent, personally I’d like to see it as a dark and action packed, blood thirsty movie, but knowing my luck it’ll be a 12A (Boooooo). I can also imagine it having a tagline like “Robocop Rebooted“.
OldBoy
Last one for you in this article, another film that I am a big fan of and a film which in my personally point of view should never be remade, the 2003 South Korean mystery thriller is a superb film that is loosely based on the Japanese Manga of the same name.
Due for release in October and another film starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Spike Lee.
I’ve never been a fan of movies that are remade from their foreign language counterparts, many fail miserably, such as the Ring movies, the original Ringu movies fantastic, English versions, awful. So I do have my doubts, but I could be proved wrong, you never know, what happened to those days when they used to just dub over a film or leave it with the subtitles!
Not Forgetting a Few More Upcoming Movie Remakes
Wait for it, there are more to come, with the like of: Highlander, Godzilla, Jumanji, Carrie, Mortal Kombat, Ghost In The Shell and Akira. The list goes on!
Over to you the reader. So what are your thoughts, do you like movie remakes and reboots? Do you think the original movies are OK as they are?Â
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
