Remakes!

Point Break, Total Recall, Highlander, Dirty Dancing, The Crow, Robocop, Short Circuit and many more. What do these films have in common? A remake is coming out within the next two years. Remakes have become quite a norm in Hollywood these days and its not hard to understand why. Production companies know they can make loads of money off tons and tons of remakes. Once you attach a past title to a brand new movie, people start to notice. But the big problem with remakes is the director's, producer's, and writer's, combined consensus and belief that since the film worked the first time it must work the second time around.

I don't know about everyone else in the class, but 9 times out of ten, the original film is better in my opinion. For example, lets look at two remakes that just came out: Fright Night and Conan. Both of these do not even compare to their originals. The magic and unique feel is eliminated and replaced with an attempt to create a blockbuster. A footloose remake will also be released in theaters in exactly a month from today. I cannot say whether the movie is any good yet, but I have my predictions. The Thing has a remake coming out in the near future as well, and this is the third time around for this film. I suspect neither Footloose nor The Thing will beable to replicate the elements that audiences have enjoyed. And even if they can replicate important aspects of the film, the movie is still only a replicate itself.

I recently read this article on IMDb (International Movie Database) that stated 30 Original films have or will be released in theaters this year. 30! Every other movie is either a sequel, adaptation, or remake. The film industry is only giving the audience something they've already had the pleasure of enjoying. The fact is, storytelling is becoming an underrated area of the Hollywood film industry. Which is very ironic seeing as the purpose of filmingmaking is to tell stories.

I do not deny that certain remakes are absolutely fantastic like King Kong, True Lies, Ocean's Eleven, and 3:10 to Yuma. I think the reasons these films were very good was there ablity to give us something new or improved that works with the original storyline. For example, the remake of King Kong really makes you interested in the giant ape's emotions and troubles throughout the movie. By doing this, there are intimate moments involving the eight wonder that really work in the film. And sometimes a remake may surpass its original or deliver the same story in a completely different way. I have heard that Rise of the Planet of the Apes is one of the best remakes to come out in a long time but I have not seen it yet. I have also heard it exceeds every other Planet of the Apes film that has been released so far so I'm definitely interested in seeing it.

This is only what I think, what are your opinions on remakes?