There’s usually a bit of controversy about Hollywood remakes, or reboots as we’re calling them now in some cases. The argument is that the original will always be better than what comes after, but as we’ve seen in the past few decades’ worth of film that’s just not true. Whether or not they’re really better is of course a very subjective thing. Some people love the originals out of a feeling nostalgia and a desire to go back to the way things used to be, while others just stubbornly cling to the past even if they know that the remake is a great deal better. What usually proves the point that remakes are sometimes better isn’t special effects or acting, but whether or not the story is told in a way that can be fully understood and embraced by audience members in a way that bridges the generational gap that keeps people apart.
Sometimes just altering the story a little bit provides clarity that wasn’t there in the first film.
5. Heat
This movie is a remake of a TV series called L.A. Takedown. It was loosely based on a real case that involved a criminal with the same name as the character that Robert DeNiro plays. Heat made a big impact with the fact that it starred Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro as the main protagonist and antagonist. Since both of them were such big stars at the time it was a highly anticipated movie.
4. Carrie
The Sissy Spacek-led version versus the Chloe Moretz film seems to be spot on for accuracy with only a few big differences. For one the newer version of the film shows how truly powerful Carrie really is thanks to the advancement in special effects. It also seems to cling to Stephen King’s idea just a little more than the original, but both films are done in a very effective manner.
3. Ocean’s Eleven
What was a single movie thanks to the money being cremated became a trilogy that came about because the gang, much larger than the first group, messed with the wrong guy. Terry Benedict was a far harder man than the casino bosses in the original film, and the sequel and the third movie had a lot to do with making things square with Benedict.
2. Dawn of the Dead
One of the biggest takeaways that affected the remake was the fact that the zombies could get up and RUN. They weren’t relegated to being shambling corpses with a taste for human flesh any longer. They could actually use whatever muscles they had left to come charging ahead and rip you apart that much quicker. Plus the group of survivors was bigger in the remake and the overall tone was a lot darker.
1. The Thing
Before the flop that was the CGI-animated remake of the remake, The Thing From Outer Space was the basis for this movie. However where the original made the survivors band together against some plant-based monstrosity The Thing was a shapeshifting creature that completely took over what body it attached to, making it able to appear as anyone it wanted to be. But fire was the ultimate way to destroy it in both films.
The remakes can be better than the original, it’s all a matter of how the story is told.
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