My Thoughts on Reboots

Remaking is an art within itself that should not be taken lightly. Over the last few decades we've seen some really good reboots (J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, Christopher Nolan's Batman, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland) and some bad ones (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Alien V.S. Predator).

We are now in an age where it seems like all Hollywood can come up with is remaking classics or doing as many sequels as possible. I'm especially disturbed by the Spider-man reboot, "The Amazing Spider-Man", set to release in theaters next summer. This is a project I've known about for a few months now and I'm very opposed to it, mainly because it doesn't fit my qualifications for a reboot. The Sam Raimi Spider-Man was only released about ten years ago, and its last sequel was in 2007. That's just not a big enough time span for a reboot to be necessary. Which brings me to my next point. A reboot has to have a legitimate purpose. I really don't see the point in doing one for Spider-Man. The first one was great. It did a fantastic job of chronicling the origins of Peter Parker, was good from a cinematic standpoint, and appealed to a wide range of viewers. Sure the third one was pathetic, but if they made a good fourth one or just left the series alone for a while, it'd be fine.

Then you've got a franchise like Superman, which also has a reboot coming in the next few years. That I completely see the reason for. Don't get me wrong I love the classic Richard Donner version, but Nolan and Snyder (Christopher Nolan will be writing/producing, Zak Snyder will be directing) want to both appeal to a modern audience, and to base the story on more modern comics and graphic novels, so as to really delve into the seriousness of the character. There you've got a good amount of time in between this and the original, and a definite purpose.

Then you've got some series that just need to be left alone. I recently read an article that George Lucas has been planning to remake all six Star Wars films since the release of Revenge of the Sith, and to use James Cameron's Avatar as heavy inspiration for how it will be filmed. Meaning 3-D, modern effects, everything. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! A New Hope is a cinematic masterpiece! There is no reason it should be messed with. Come on Lucas, have some sense and leave your greatest work as it is!

I'm also seeing stuff about a Batman remake once TDKR is out. NO! Nolan's work glorifies Batman and demonstrates brilliant filmmaking. Dark Knight is this generation's Empire Strikes Back. Stuff like this makes me concerned about the future of Hollywood and about what modern audiences look for in movies.