In defense of remakes, reboots and big-screen adaptations

Apparently, Hollywood has no new ideas. It seems like all the rage lately has been (aside from 3D) remakes, reboots and big-screen adaptations. “Clash of the Titans” was just released and took in $64 million on its opening weekend. The film (which, in my opinion, could’ve used more Bubo) is the latest remake to hit screens. This summer sees a remake of “The Karate Kid” and a big-screen version of the “A-Team.” I was one of those guys in the theater watching that trailer and saying, “Worst. Idea. Ever.” But recently I’ve started to change my stance. I’ve started to think that I’m not their target audience so why be one of those people that complains about it.

I was having a discussion with a friend that said he never has and never will see the original “Psycho.” Why? Because “it’s in black and white.” I told him that it was made in black and white because Hitchcock wanted it to feel like a low-budget exploitation film. To which his reply was, “it looks old.” This friend said that he really liked Gus Van Sant’s version of the film and that they should remake older movies if he was going to ever watch them.

This got me thinking and I have to say that I’m totally for it. Personally, I’d love to see a remake of “North By Northwest” with George Clooney (he’s got that Carey Grant thing down). I’d also LOVE to see a “Vertigo” with Tom Hanks and Keira Knightley. No one could EVER touch what Hitchcock did but if it made someone interested in the original then that’s a good thing, right? They remade Hitch’s “Rear Window” into “Disturbia” and the end of “Eagle Eye” was lifted straight from the end of “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” If they are going to remake his flicks they should, at the very least, get some great directors and actors instead of casting Shia LaBarf again and again. Beyond Hitchcock flicks, it would be awesome to see remakes of the Anthony Edwards flick “Gotcha” and the Patrick Dempsey classic “Run.”

I’m now definitely looking forward to the upcoming big-screen adaptations and reboots. Gonna take them with a grain of salt because for every bed adaptation (SWAT, Bewitched), there's a good one that comes along (South Park, Star Trek: First Contact). Along with “21 Jump Street” there’s also a “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Smurfs” movies in the works. Plus, there are reboots for Spider-Man, Daredevil and the Fantastic Four. “The Incredible Hulk” and Batman had reboots and they weren’t that bad (though I prefer Ang Lee’s vision of the Hulk). Ultimately a studio’s purpose is to make money and there is a built-in audience when it comes to comic films. This is great for superhero fans because even if it’s a bad reboot, we still get new comic book flicks. That’s better than studio’s spending money on more Nicolas Sparks movies.