They say originality is dead, well they may be right. Why are Hollywood remakes so prevalent and are they really such a bad thing? Edward Wragg takes a look at the trend.
There’s a collective groan from cinephiles the world over at the mere mention of the word ‘Remake’. Keyboard warriors all over proclaim, “HOW DARE THEY?” Presumably with little knowledge of how to appropriately use capital letters.
To quote 21 Jump Street, “You see the guys in charge of this stuff lack creativity and are completely out of ideas, so all they do now is recycle sh*t from the past and expect us not to notice.” A tongue in cheek line from a film which is itself a remake, but the question is how close to the truth does it actually cut? After all ‘many a true word said in jest’.
Firstly, let’s get a quick play by play of exactly what all the terms mean;
- Remake means to recreate an older property with minor tweaks. i.e. “I really love that bowl. I think I’m going to make my own but mine’s going to be magenta because I’m a Scorpio.”
- Reboot means to take an existing series and start again keeping the same central theme but ignoring the previous timeline. i.e. “That bowl is great! I’m going to make my own but ignore the matching crockery. Seriously magenta starter plates? What are you, a Scorpio?”
- Lastly, a reimagining is to recreate an existing property but with at least one major change. i.e. “I like the look of that bowl so I’ve decided to make my own! I have tweaked it a bit though so mine’s an ashtray in the shape of a scorpion. Why yes I am a Scorpio, how did you guess?”
In short, Oceans 11 is a remake, The Amazing Spiderman is a reboot, Malificent is a reimagining, and I have an unhealthy obsession with kitchenware (although not a Scorpio interestingly).
Part of the problem with these films is that by taking something much beloved you are setting the bar high from the offset. Add to this Hollywood’s love for making films from known properties and you have all the ingredients for a money grabbing bolognaise.
In recent times we’ve had appalling remakes of Total Recall, Point Break and Ben Hur. Most recently, we’ve had the announcement that a remake of 1983’s Scarface is in the works. Why would you possibly want to remake such an iconic, classic film? What more could you possibly add? Well that 1983 film is in fact a remake of a Howard Hughes produced film way back in 1932. Did they ask the same questions back then?
So are remakes a money grabbing enterprise? Yes…or at least most of the time. Does this mean they lack creativity? Not necessarily. The question is always, “What new are you bringing to the table?” Whether big or small, something has to justify the remake. Peter Jackson’s 2005 King Kong is a fairly slavish remake of the 1923 original but was able to bring the special effects into the 21st century. The result, nostalgia not included, is a far more immersive cinematic experience than the 1933 original. The same can be said for John Carpenters The Thing.
With a cinematic history of over 40 years the producers of the James Bond franchise were never going to hang up their dinner jackets in the closet and let the franchise come to an end. However by rebooting the series with 2006’s darker, grittier Casino Royale they breathed fresh life into a series which had long become stale.
Sure for every True Grit we get 3 Texas Chainsaw Massacre films and, whilst the recent Ghostbusters film was ok, it doesn’t hold a candle to the original. The point is however we still get The Departed, we still have the Fly, and 21 Jump Street was a uniquely, hilarious movie going experience. Hell, even the Lion King could be considered a reimagining of a famous play from the 1600’s. ‘A prince’s Uncle, murders his father to take the throne, until he is defeated in the final act by the rightful heir.’ Sound familiar? Because William Shakespeare wrote something incredibly similar in a small play called Hamlet.
Ultimately I get the hatred for remakes. I’ve probably been guilty of spouting fury myself, (The remake of Clash of the Titans still gets my blood boiling). In the end however we need to give these films a chance if we want to experience everything cinema has to offer. Film has been adapting from other mediums for years so ultimately adapting from the same medium is just an inevitable progression.
P.S. If you choose to remake E.T., I may not be so forgiving.
