Bullgrit
Adventurer
Hand of Evil posted about the remake of Big Trouble in Little China, and that made me think of this topic. I don’t want to derail that specific discussion, so I’ll make this new thread for the general topic of remakes/reboots.
I don't mind the general concept of remaking or rebooting stories that were great in their cultural time but need an update for modern culture (like pre-Vietnam vs. post-9/11). Or that were great for their technology level but could be updated with modern technology (like stop-motion vs. computer animation). There have been at least a few good such remakes.
And then some stories stand well even over decades. Either the story transcends a specific cultural time, or the story depends on its specific cultural time, so any cultural updating would fail to improve it.
For me, the aggravating and disappointing remakes/reboots are those that do far more than update the story or use better tech. Those that change the base concept, or change the core story. You know, those remakes/reboots that really just use the original name recognition on a completely different story. This is especially maddening with something that is a sequel or some other kind of continuation or expansion of the story franchise.
For example:
Someone new to the whole Mad Max story who sees Fury Road comes away with an accurate idea of the whole franchise. FR is pretty true to the style and stories of its predecessors.
But someone new to the Star Trek story who sees the recent reboot (2 movies) comes away with the idea that ST is an over-the-top action adventure genre. That’s not the Star Trek that I grew up with (over 30+ years).
Other examples that aren’t remakes/reboots, but are movie adaptions of books: World War Z, and Starship Troopers. Two excellent books that became things completely different – different in story and in feel – when portrayed on film.
An example of a good book-to-movie adaptation is The Watchmen. The movie was pretty dead on to the graphic novel in both story and feel.
Let’s see, some other examples…
Invasion of the Body Snatchers had a good remake – updated for culture and with technology. Also, The Fly, the most recent King Kong, the Batman franchise reboot.
What do you think about remakes/reboots and adaptations in general? What are some films that got a good remake, and what are films that got worse remakes? What films completely changed the original material to the point of unrecognizability? What are some older stories that do need a remake because they are good but terribly dated in their original form?
Bullgrit
I don't mind the general concept of remaking or rebooting stories that were great in their cultural time but need an update for modern culture (like pre-Vietnam vs. post-9/11). Or that were great for their technology level but could be updated with modern technology (like stop-motion vs. computer animation). There have been at least a few good such remakes.
And then some stories stand well even over decades. Either the story transcends a specific cultural time, or the story depends on its specific cultural time, so any cultural updating would fail to improve it.
For me, the aggravating and disappointing remakes/reboots are those that do far more than update the story or use better tech. Those that change the base concept, or change the core story. You know, those remakes/reboots that really just use the original name recognition on a completely different story. This is especially maddening with something that is a sequel or some other kind of continuation or expansion of the story franchise.
For example:
Someone new to the whole Mad Max story who sees Fury Road comes away with an accurate idea of the whole franchise. FR is pretty true to the style and stories of its predecessors.
But someone new to the Star Trek story who sees the recent reboot (2 movies) comes away with the idea that ST is an over-the-top action adventure genre. That’s not the Star Trek that I grew up with (over 30+ years).
Other examples that aren’t remakes/reboots, but are movie adaptions of books: World War Z, and Starship Troopers. Two excellent books that became things completely different – different in story and in feel – when portrayed on film.
An example of a good book-to-movie adaptation is The Watchmen. The movie was pretty dead on to the graphic novel in both story and feel.
Let’s see, some other examples…
Invasion of the Body Snatchers had a good remake – updated for culture and with technology. Also, The Fly, the most recent King Kong, the Batman franchise reboot.
What do you think about remakes/reboots and adaptations in general? What are some films that got a good remake, and what are films that got worse remakes? What films completely changed the original material to the point of unrecognizability? What are some older stories that do need a remake because they are good but terribly dated in their original form?
Bullgrit