Hollywood has yearned to recreate the past since the first ever remake of The Great Train Robbery in 1904 and the reboot of The Return of Godzilla in 1984. When will Hollywood regain originality ?… That is every filmgoers question.
The latest remake to hit the cinema last Thursday was Ben-Hur, which has received substantial negative reviews from many critics. Owen Gleiberman from Variety stated:
“An oddly lackluster affair: sludgy and plodding, photographed (by Oliver Wood) in nondescript medium close-up, an epic that feels like a mini-series served up in bits and pieces.”
However, even though this is an abysmal attempt, people are forgetting that the 1959 Ben-Hur classic was also a remake. So does that mean these films can have a chance of being taken seriously? Maybe … but this will not be the case for 2016 Ben-Hur as it is a ridiculous attempt to renew a classic.
The most recent reboot to hit cinemas was the all female version of Ghostbusters, which starred many funny ladies of today, including Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. However, as shown in this trailer below it is clear that it was going to be a failure.
Poor line delivery, the obvious reaching for humour and the casting of Chris Hemsworth as eye candy. What a disappointing excuse of a film … after what Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd did so successfully in the 1980s … why spoil that for us all.
Another belligerent attempt of a reboot was Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes. There is so much wrong with this film … poor acting … unclear story … the cliche sequel ending. It has become one of the worst ever reboot/remake attempts of all time.
Whomever saw this movie at the theatre or DVD release were left with anger and frustration of yet another Hollywood film seeking profit through retelling of a classic. Almost destroying the careers of well known actors Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter … such a disappointment for them both.
Roger Ebert stated that in:
“Ten years from now, it will be the 1968 version that people are still renting.”
Proving that people will want to forget this film was ever released and go back to what was great and different in the 1968 version.
Alas Hollywood’s yearning to reboot and remake as a way to succeed in the box office could endanger the authorship of film. When people look at Ben-Hur, Ghostbusters and Planet of the Apes they do not look at it as a William Wyler, a Ivan Reitman or Franklin J. Schaffner film, they will just see it as a typical way of making money for their studios.
Through Hollywood’s recreation of the past with these films, it strengthens the argument that Hollywood is well and truly losing it’s originality, with more attempts happening every year trying to rebrand what was already successful.
Here is a list of just a few films being remade or rebooted in the near future:
- Splash
- Mary Poppins
- Jumanji
- All Quiet on the Western front
- Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
- All female version Ocean’s Eleven
- IT
- Cliffhanger
- The Birds
- Memento
- Flatliners
This is quite a damning thought for every filmgoer, with classics for all generations being remade and rebooted. Putting money into all these films has made Hollywood lose its credibility. When will filmgoer’s see something new again? Hollywood needs to understand that they can not do this to film as a means of creating revenue for their studios, or they risk losing bigtime in the long-term.
What do you think … should Hollywood be allowed to make remakes and reboots? Feel free to comment.
