Films That Should Be Remade
Why Day of the Dead and The Terminator Could Use a Tune Up
Audiences, as a whole, hate them because of a sentimental attachment to the original version. The original creates a bar, a mark for the remake to achieve in the eyes of the audience.
Critics, for the most part, hate them because of the unoriginal nature of the remake. On the surface, it takes much less effort to adapt an older film than to make a new one.
Then, of course, there's the view of the remake as a quick way for studios to make easy profits, banking on the familiarity of the original film.
There's little love for the remake.
Some films, however, could stand a do-over. Insufficient budgets, miscast leads, mediocre dialogue and even poor directing can all hinder a film's potential. Here are just a few films that, if done right, could be better than the original.
1. Day of the Dead: This film was already remade, although it was straight to DVD, which shows how hard it is to do a good remake. The original Day of the Dead the underrated film in the Dead series and features a surprisingly decent cast and script. What’s missing, however, is a sufficient budget. There simply aren’t enough zombies in this film to create the mood of despair or terror George Romero wanted, and the special effects could use improvement.
2. The Warriors: This cult classic from 1979, about a gang trying to find its way back to its turf while facing a plethora of other gangs, really needs an update. It’s a great story, but the gangs (especially the Baseball Furies) are comical and the dialogue is stilted. A modern update, using modern gangs and setting, could inject a little more energy and realism into this film.
3. The Butterfly Effect: The premise for this film is fantastic, but the execution is horrible. Poor directing and editing, along with the ridiculous casting of Ashton Kutcher, bring what should have been a great exploration of the fallacy of time and memory into the campy territory. Also, the dialogue’s weak and the characters are flat. But the premise is too good to give up on, so another shot at the script and stars could do wonders.
4. Much Ado About Nothing: The 1993 film version of the famous Shakespeare comedy suffers from two clear flaws, director Kenneth Branagh and Keanu Reeves. Branagh is a much better actor than film director, so turning the directing duties to a more experienced director could help. Keanu Reeves, on the other hand, does not belong within a mile of Shakespeare. Keep Branagh acting and remove Reeves horrid british accent and this film should be quite good.
5. The Terminator: A very good action film, and definitely one of James Cameron’s better films, the film could use a modern update with better special effects and a more intimidating cyborg to redirect the franchise, like Christopher Nolan did with Batman. The series needs more darkness and edge and really needs to go back to the fear of technology theme it once harbored.
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