Contents
Movie remakes have always been a controversial art form, especially when it comes to good films that have left their mark on cinema. It is here in Russia that they can, without a twinge of conscience, film a “rethinking” of classic Soviet films (which is worth the new “Prisoner of the Caucasus” and “Gentlemen of Fortune”), and in Hollywood this is much stricter.
If someone were to remake Luc Besson’s Léon as carelessly, or ruin the original Shawshank Redemption or The Godfather, that director would be torn apart by the press.
However, along with them there are films that need a remake due to the fact that the original is morally and technically obsolete, or a great idea was once poorly implemented.
We invite you to remember 10 films of varying degrees of prescription that need a second wind.
10 Blade | 1998-2004
The trilogy about a half-breed vampire who devoted his life to fighting the “bloodsuckers” began more than 20 years ago, but even now the first part looks quite cheerful, although the graphic component is still outdated.
The sequel looks better, the triquel even better, but everything is ruined by a stupid script and a frankly hacky performance by Wesley Snipes. If now we take an intelligent director, give him at least $100 million of the budget (not money at all for a modern blockbuster), and call a star of the first magnitude (for example, Chadwick Boseman) for the main role, then the restart has every chance of success.
The only problem is that now is not the right time to launch another vampire franchise, but in general the idea is more than enough, right?
9. 13th warrior | 1999
In the year of its release, this film became a major box office failure: with a colossal budget of $160 million, it brought the creators a little more than $60 million. Nevertheless, the historical drama with Antonio Banderas in the title role cannot be called bad: there is an interesting idea based on the novel by Michael Crichton “Eaters of the Dead”, excellent camera work, decent acting.
If you take all this (with the exception of Banderas – a bit old already, alas) and remove the “burden” from the narrative, then you can concoct a quality picture. Unfortunately, given the sad fate of the original, no studio is yet prepared to take that risk.
8. Water world | 1995
“Water World” is “Mad Max”, in which instead of sand there is water, and instead of Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner cuts through the car on a jet ski.
The plot is as follows: the world after the apocalypse, because of which all the glaciers melted and flooded the land, so the remaining people survive on the water and lead a desperate struggle for resources.
The whole film is a non-stop action with interruptions for humor, which, in fairness, is not the best. This, and other problems of the picture, did not allow it to recoup its exorbitant $ 175 million budget, but it has huge potential.
The Mad Max remake turned out to be beyond praise, lit up even at the Oscars, and if Water World falls into the right director’s hands, it can turn out just as well.
7. Stargate | 1994
Roland Emmerich’s 1994 sci-fi film launched an entire franchise that has since included several TV series, video games, TV movies, and more. decided to green-light the sequel, launching the series on TV instead.
The Stargate remake is one of the most real, as rumors about it have been circulating for a long time, and Emmerich is again seated in the director’s chair. If everything works out, then the project has everything in order to “plant” a new generation on the Stargate universe.
6. Wish Maker | 1997-2002
Franchises such as Saw and Final Destination have shown everyone a huge number of methods of sophisticated death, but they have not become pioneers in this field. Before them, The Wishmaker with Andy Divoff saw the light, which in terms of blackness of humor can even give them a head start.
The plot tells about a genie who is freed by a woman and, according to the laws of the genre, gets the right to 3 wishes. In parallel, the genie asks random people what they want, turning their desires against them. Considering that horror films and thrillers are in vogue now, it’s time to reshoot.
5. Lawn mower | 1992
In the early 90s, when the personal computer boom began, IT people could only dream of the VR that is now available to the average smartphone user and cheap glasses from Aliexpress.
From such fantasies, The Lawnmower Man was born – a story about a scientist who, with the help of a unique serum, turns a mentally retarded guy into a superhuman who can penetrate people’s minds and the virtual world.
The picture was shot for $10 million, which is not enough even for those years, especially given the specifics. Now, when the graphics have become hundreds of times better, this film could play with completely different colors.
4. Crossroads of worlds | 1996
A typical story about a student who turns out to be the Chosen One and must save not only his own world, but several others. The main feature is excellent dramaturgy, which can give odds to some modern blockbusters.
This film can not just be re-shot – you can make a whole franchise out of it, and no one will be very upset if a girl is made the main character in order to be in trend and follow modern feminist sentiments.
3. Immortality Corporation | 1992
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Sheckley, and this is precisely its main mistake. It is impossible to squeeze the whole story from the book into one film – here you need at least a dilogy, or better, a trilogy.
It was the crumpled narrative that became the main reason for the failure of the action movie in the 90s, but now, with a competent approach, the result can be completely different.
2. Decapitate the Hydra | 1998
The TV movie introduced the viewer to Nick Fury, who was white and looked like David Hasselhoff. Of course, now the image of this character is firmly entrenched in Samuel L. Jackson, so there can be no talk of a white actor, but in general it would be interesting to see a remake.
Young Fury has already been shown to us in Captain Marvel’s solo album, and this film could be made a solo album by Fury himself, since the plot already has a plot, it just needs to be finalized.
1. Ghost Rider | 2007-20012
The “Ghost Rider” dilogy is the “freshest” in our selection, but still we think it’s time for it to restart. The original Nicolas Cage tapes were good, but the character’s world in the comics is much larger than what was shown.
Many would not refuse to look at the adventures of other racers in the service of Satan, who lived, for example, in the Wild West, especially since such a character has already flashed in the first part.