We are seeing some of our favourite films being remade and pumped out of the Hollywood factory like there is no tomorrow. Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Arthur, Fright Night, Footloose, Karate Kid, Total Recall, Conan the Barbarian. What is the one thing that all of these recent remakes have in common?
They were all unnecessary.
Some of the original films (Conan the Barbarian and Footloose
specifically) granted, were not well made films. In fact, they were bordering on
bad. But it is that ‘so bad it’s good’ fact that has made them such cult
classics amongst film fans. We do not want Hollywood trying to make them better. We like them how they are.
The real question is, why are Hollywood so hell bent on taking our
childhood memories and destroying them in front of our very eyes? Simple…
money.
The suits that run Hollywood do not care one bit as long as they can
make a profit. However small that profit is, however bad the content and lack
of artist merit, they will continue to plough money into remaking classic films. They will keep banging
out remake after remake and generally destroying what people loved about the
originals. Hollywood try to justify this by saying that young audiences never
saw the originals, and older audiences would watch simply out of curiosity. It
depresses me that Hollywood are treating their audiences this way. Firstly, that
kids of today would have no interest in seeing an old film. Secondly, that they
think adults would want to see the remake of a film they already love. But they are making money, so maybe they do have a point?
Two recent films, one that was seen as a hit and another that is being seen as a flop, show that Hollywood make money despite the content. The 2010 remake of Karate Kid was a surprising hit. Not only was it good, but it managed to make back its money in its US opening weekend and is now the highest grossing film in the series. The film cost a mere $40m to make and made $56m in just three days. It has so far grossed $176m worldwide.
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| Karate Kid 2010 Vs Karate Kid 1984 |
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| Total Recall 1990 Vs Total Recall 2012 |
Flight of the Navigator, Robocop, Carrie, Starship Troopers, Point Break (which
has already been retold as The Fast and the Furious) and even Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (prepare to have Michael Bay shit all over your childhood) are currently all next in line
for remakes.
Yippee.
When is Enough Enough?
Hollywood enjoys a sequel. In fact, sometimes they don’t know when to stop. They
will run a story into the ground and bleed it dry all in the name of a quick buck. Notably so with the following franchises:
Saw - 7
Fast and Furious - 5 (currently making number 6)
Die Hard - 4 (currently filming number 5)
The Terminator - 4
Indiana Jones - 4 (writing number 5)
Mission Impossible - 4
The Bourne films - 4
Hollywood have recently announced sequels to Bill and Ted,
Ghostbusters, Dumb and Dumber and Top Gun. Four films no one ever thought we
would see more sequels to. It seems the longer you leave it, the more the audience
want it. They now have nostalgic value.
But unlike remakes, we don’t seem to mind as much with sequels. If the last in the series was a genuinely good film, we the audience
will always leave the cinema wanting more. Plus for Hollywood, if it made a lot
of money, they will have no trouble making another. It makes financial
sense.
In some cases, namely the super hero genre, the first film does not
even have to have been released before Hollywood start talking sequels. Before The Avengers was released, Hollywood knew they were onto a
sure thing and were already talking about where The Avengers 2 will take us.
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| Avengers Assemble! Lets go make a sequel. |
As long as each sequel is bigger and better than the last, we are
simply happy to go along with it.
Live Long, and Prequel
On rare occasions Hollywood do seem to know when to call it a day. The Star Trek and Alien sequels for example, had gone as far as they
could. The characters' stories had been told and prolonged (and in Ripley’s
case, actually brought back from the dead). The actors were too old to reprise
their roles and Hollywood knew there was no point in continuing.
The answer? Prequels.
A prequel is a great way of reigniting a franchise. It means the
studios can pretty much take the ideas anywhere they want, as long as they tie
in with the originals in some way, shape or form. They can also use new actors for the roles of characters
we already know and love, so as to please the die hard fans. We can see how the
story we know so well began, without ruining the original films. Prequels will
always add something new and will always gather interest from audiences. They
will always make money.
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| A brand new cast for Scott's Alien prequel, Prometheus |
More often than not, prequels pass with flying colours. The Star Trek
prequel was a hit with critics and they have almost finished filming the
sequel. Ridley Scott's Alien prequel, Prometheus, was one of the most eagerly
anticipated films of the year and they are currently writing a follow up with a
third also on the way. However, as Mr Lucas found out with Phantom Menace, they
can fail. Not financially, but artistically. This is why he made two more. Meesa
sorry.
The Reboot
Unless you live under a rock, you would have heard by now of a little
movie that came out recently called The Dark Knight Rises. The third
installment to Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise. Critics have hailed this trilogy as one of the best comic book (and
non comic book) trilogies of recent time.
After the disappointment of Joel Schumacher’s 1997 over the top,
laughable and more camp than Louie Spence at Butlins, Batman & Robin disaster
(remember the bat nipples?). No one could have foreseen a Batman film ever
doing well again. The Batman name had been dragged through the mud, and
the Hollywood studios were reluctant to commission another Batman film. They
also knew they could not make a prequel as Tim Burton had already done the origin
story in 1989. Unless they wanted to show us Bruce Wayne in college for 120 minutes, they were stuck.
But then a British director named Christopher Nolan came to them with
an idea. He did not want to make another sequel or a prequel, he wanted to
re-invent Batman. Some may say - the whole comic book movie genre.
Nolan wanted to start all over. He wanted to leave the Burton and
Schumacher films in the past and concentrate on a new origin story. A more
gritty and realistic version of the caped crusader, with a start, a middle, and
an end - a trilogy. Hollywood put their faith in Nolan, gave him the cash and he
delivered. With style.
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| Nolan's Dark Knight |
In a similar fashion, we recently had the Sam Raimi Spiderman trilogy.
The first two films were very well received by critics and fans. The third film
however, was widely panned. Given that the very subject matter is of a comic
book character, Raimi had somehow managed to turn Spiderman into something
laughable and over the top. He lost what everyone loved about the first two
outings. Instead of making a plot focused film, he tried to do too much, turned it
into a comic book soap opera and on an artistic level, inevitably failed.
On a financial level however, it became the highest weekend grossing film of all time. It made a staggering $151m in its opening weekend. It was reported that it cost $280m to make and it has now made $890m worldwide. Do you really think Hollywood care that it was rubbish? No, me neither.
On a financial level however, it became the highest weekend grossing film of all time. It made a staggering $151m in its opening weekend. It was reported that it cost $280m to make and it has now made $890m worldwide. Do you really think Hollywood care that it was rubbish? No, me neither.
Now, Hollywood loves a franchise - it is money in the bank. What they
don’t like is when a franchise comes to an end. Like Batman, pre-Nolan,
and despite the financial success, Spiderman had now come to an end.
There was no way of making a sequel to Spiderman 3 without failing and
‘doing a Schumacher’. So how do they overcome this obstacle? By rebooting
Spiderman and starting from scratch. The new director clearly taking tips from Nolan’s
previous efforts. They went for a much more dark and gritty tone. Only ten years on since Raimi’s original, and despite luke-warm reviews, Hollywood now had a new
Spiderman reboot, and a new money making machine. The Amazing Spiderman was a
box office success. We now have a sequel to look forward to.
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| Chin up Peter, there's always a sequel in the pipeline! |
In 2013 we will have a Superman reboot to look forward to, due to
Bryan Singer's awful Superman Returns sequel. This time they have turned to director Zach Snyder. It will also be produced by Christopher Nolan (yes, the man who re-invented Batman).
With
Batman coming to an end, it is safe to say that Hollywood have a new success story on the way.
Can We Blame Them?
If seems that if the studios can leave the original films alone, no real
harm can be done. We can simply dust off our VHS tapes and watch the originals
and not need worry about the remakes. In the case of Raimi's Spiderman films
they will always be loved, as will Tim Burton's Batman films.
While Hollywood continue to make money hand over fist, and whether we
want these sequels, prequels and reboots or not, they will continue to make
them. They will always generate huge public interest be it good or bad.
If they know they can make a good profit from remaking a film we all loved as a
child, they will do so without thinking twice.
Although I can honestly say that I have not seen one remake that has
bettered the original.
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