Movie Remakes: Good Versus Bad

Creativity is a very fickle thing. It can strike the right person at the right time to invent a revolutionary art or science, or it can go over a person’s head to miss him or her entirely. A good portion of even the strong creativity that produces amazing new leaps in the sciences or arts have a basis on something else. Building onto something from the past to create a new twist on an old classic or to create something bigger and better than the original is one of the most popular forms of creativity. Movies are a perfect place to look into this branch of artistry. Lately, remaking movies has become a subgenre unto itself. Some of these remakes turn out to be a step up from originals, but others can ruin the primary film by making a movie that’s a step down. There are even a few movie remakes that leave people on both sides of the line—some enjoying the remake and some disliking it. Here is a dissection of some of the most infamous movie remakes so that you can decide if remakes should be honored or simply given up on.

The Good

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In 1996, director Ron Howard took on a remake of Alex Segal’s 1956 hostage drama called Ransom! His directorial style and the star-studded cast take this movie to the next level. Even those who do not like the notorious Mel Gibson have to admit his prominence in this remake as the revenge driven father is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Even the bad kidnappers (Liev Schreiber, Gary Sinise, and Lili Taylor) put more heart into their roles than the standard villains of the original. This remake has more raw power and emotion to make it more of an adrenaline rush during the suspenseful parts and adds some surprisingly touching twists of its own.

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George Romero’s 1978 zombie movie entitled Dawn of the Dead was a horror movie masterpiece that launched zombies into a whole new realm. This “grandfather” film became a cult classic and turned zombies into a real horror threat when Romero showed them for their full terrifying potential. Rookie director Zack Snyder was thought to be insane when he announced that his first role as a movie director (since most of his early work was for music videos and commercials) would be to remake this founding flick in the horror genre. Synder decided to set himself apart by changing a few of the details while still holding to the spirit of the original and ended up creating a justified remake that brought in new fans to the film and to zombies in general.

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The 1969 version of The Italian Job directed by Peter Collinson was considered to be the epitome of the British caper heist movie. Complete with a Mini Cooper chase sequence and Michael Caine, the Brits are certainly put into their own as high class thieves in the 1969 film. F. Gary Gray decided to take a few liberties with the film by giving it a strong American twist. While many thought the addition of Mark Wahlberg as the lead protagonist was a bold move, it still turned out quite nicely. Gray also kept the importance of Mini Coopers by having them play a vital role in a high speed chase through Los Angeles.

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The original heist classic called Ocean’s 11 was released in 1960. The A-list best buddies known as the Rat Pack were the main pull of this original movie. Their presence in the film brought the attention to a relatively simple burglary storyline. However, the remake by Steven Soderbergh made an explosion on the movie scene. The fully loaded star ensemble isn’t the Rat Pack but the collective clearly has magic of its own. Their better acting skills and more focus on plot and story made this new Ocean’s 11 a huge success—to the point of having the amazing stars come back for two additional sequels.

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The best sign of a successful remake is when the original is forgotten about or at least ignored by modern movie viewers. The 1983 gangster cult classic actually is a remake of a 1932 film of the same name. The major change of the remake was switching the Italian mob characters to those of the Cuban cartels in Miami during the drug boom. Al Pacino needs credit for his role in the success as well since his portrayal of the kingpin Tony Montana has become an independent icon.