Amidst the deluge of remakes and reboots being greenlit by Hollywood these days, here’s THR with the 13 instances where the reimagined version surpassed the original. They do take some liberties — is “His Girl Friday” really a remake? Should “It” be considered, given that the only other adaptation before it was for TV?
Regardless, I set out to compile my own list of top tier remakes. Honestly, I struggled. I only found about twelve strong examples that truly earned that title. It’s a testament to how rarely remakes improve on what came before. Most fall flat. The exceptions…
Ocean’s Eleven
The Thing
The Fly
Casino Royale
The Departed
True Grit
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Little Shop of Horrors
3:10 to Yuma
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Scarface
Sorcerer
In more than a century of filmmaking, only a dozen remakes have truly justified their existence—eclipsing the originals or at least standing shoulder to shoulder with them. (Though I’m stretching a bit with “Sorcerer,” which is really only on par with “The Wages of Fear.”)
Fact is, remakes rarely live up to the original. It’s not just nostalgia clouding our judgment. The truth is, most of them aren’t driven by creative ambition but by risk-averse studios hungry for IP recognition.
A few days ago, I decided to compile a list of all the remakes that have been greenlit in Hollywood over the last 24 months:
Vertigo, Starship Troopers, Night of the Hunter, The War of the Roses, Scarface, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bloodsport, Audition, House of Games, The Faculty, The Man From Rio, Headhunters, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, A Colt Is My Passport, Fail Safe, Near Dark, 9 to 5, Creature From the Black Lagoon, Possession, A Fistful of Dollars, Backdraft, Another Round, The Wizard of Oz, The Conversation, Rope, The Fly, It’s a Wonderful Life, Body Heat, It’s a Mad Mad Mad World, Witches of Eastwick, Forbidden Planet, Deep Impact, Idle Hands, Cliffhanger, Cruel Intentions, Clue, The ‘Burbs, Highlander.
Which of these has actual potential?
The most recent example, “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,” with Ryan Reynolds attached to star, certainly doesn’t need a reimagining for modern-day sensibilities; it stands on its own. If originality isn’t an option, I’d rather Hollywood redo bad films. It’s a win-win for them—reimagining flawed movies allows them to fix plot holes, improve acting, and turn forgotten ideas into something worthwhile.