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| Excellent or bogus? |
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Memento, and The Birds. These are just three examples of upcoming reboots that intend to make a quick buck at the box office.
I don't find remakes particularly exciting, especially if the reboot is a franchise that doesn't warrant it. But sometimes it's difficult to ignore a remake, especially if it concerns an old movie that I particularly like.
A movie that's dear to my heart is the 1987 masterpiece RoboCop. Now, I wasn't impressed when I learned of the proposed reboot. Obviously, the remake was going to be awful, and it didn't require a genius to conclude RoboCop 2014 wouldn't even come close to bettering the original.
Though, I must have felt a bit of hope that RoboCop 2014 would turn out ok, as when the release date finally arrived I made my way to the cinema. Unfortunately, any hope I had quickly vanished as the credits began with an awful dubstep remix of Basil Poledouris' original score. After 'RoboCop' had flashed across the screen, and the opening soundtrack had intoxicated the theatre, it was clear that this movie was already heading to the well-stocked pile of terrible Hollywood remakes.
It's fair to say, Robocop 2014's prime directive certainly wasn't to serve the public trust. Instead, its only mission was to make a quick buck at the box office. And, in that respect, it was a success. As at present, it has made over $240 million from a $100 million budget. But finances aside, the film wasn't even close to matching Paul Verhoeven's 1987 satirical sci-fi masterpiece, and anyone who says the reboot is better than the original deserves to be the subject of a typical arrest and disarming procedure from ED - 209.
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| Arnie didn't enjoy sitting through Total Recall 2012 |
Another Paul Verhoeven classic, Total Recall, became the subject of a reboot in 2012, and again it wasn't an improvement over the original. It didn't flop at the box office, but it was nowhere near as good. Yes, the special effects were better in the remake, but I'd rather get my ass to Mars with Arnie in the 1990 version than sit through a pointless remake that tries to ride the coattails of its superior predecessor.
Both RoboCop and Total Recall were remade around 20 years' after their original releases. More recently, the Spider-Man series was rebooted in 2012. I still don't understand the decision to reboot it, and what's more, The Amazing Spider-Man was no better than the 2002 original.
Now, I understand changing the cast, I wasn't a really a fan of Tobey Maguire, but I assumed it would have been acceptable to make a fourth in the series, instead of retelling the story only five years' after the initial release of Sami Raimi's trilogy in 2007. Other disappointing reboots and remakes include The Italian Job, Clash of the Titans, Godzilla, The Invasion, Rollerball, Psycho, Terminator Genisys... The list goes on.
Of course, there are instances when a remake, or reboot, has been as good, or better than the original. A recent example is Dredd, which was far better than 1995 effort starring Sylvester Stallone. The Star Trek reboot was also pretty good. I've found both JJ Abrams' efforts enjoyable, but not better than the likes of Wrath of Khan, or Undiscovered Country.
The most needed reboot was the Batman franchise, especially after the series went utterly wayward thanks to George Clooney and his bat nipples. Though The Dark Knight Rises wasn't exactly outstanding, Christopher Nolan did a fantastic job with the series overall. The 2001 Planet of the Apes reboot with Mark Wahlberg was dire in comparison to the 1968 classic, but both Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes re-energised a dying franchise.
It's fair to say most remakes or reboots tend to disappoint. The only positive of a remake failing to match the quality of an original is the possibility that the first film might gain some attention, and reach a new audience of moviegoers. Sometimes, though, beloved franchises need to be left alone, and their place in cinema history shouldn't be tarnished by inferior 'retellings' years, or decades later.
So, remakes and reboots, are they excellent? To quote Ted Theodore Logan:
"No way!"