Debate of the Day: When Has the Remake Been Better?

ByPaul Posted on

It’s a well known trend in Hollywood today that they’re out of ideas and therefore rebooting and remaking every film that we all used to  love. Get ready for a new Judge Dredd, Totall Recall, Mad Max, and more. They’re even rebooting movies that were out under a decade ago, which is why we’re seeing Peter Parker have a new face a mere five years after his “final” adventure.

But sometimes, these reboot happy crazies get it right. They might be stealing from an old film or a foreign film or both, but on occasion, the remake is better. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s noticeable. My own examples I’d cite would be The Ring, which added many layers of complexity to the Japanese version that were just not present, and the result was an overall better film than the original. I would also argue for say, Dawn of the Dead, The Departed, Scarface and The Thing. The second remake, not the third.

Which films do you think have surpassed the ones that inspired them?

I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point.

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24 Comments

  1. Ocean’s eleven is the first one that comes to mind. I also love the dawn of the dead remake, but haven’t seen the original so I can’t make a comparison. I’m not sure if this counts but I liked JJ Abrams’ Star Trek, but was never a fan of the original shows or movies.
    If the newest trailer for the amazing spider-man is any indication it could surpass the original trilogy.

  2. Arguably: Assault on Precinct 13. They changed up a lot of the plot and the antagonist went from “Asian street gang” to “corrupt cops” but the remake did have a lot of nice action and grittiness going for it.

  4. 8 of the best remakes:
    -The Ring
    -The Fly
    -Scarface
    -The Thing (yes, second remake)
    -Sorcerer
    -Cape Fear
    -Heat
    -Solaris

    3 of the most awful remakes:
    -Rollerball
    -The Day The Earth Stood Still
    -The Hitcher

  5. I’d go with the recent edition of True Grit. And I like the 1980s musical version of Little Shop of Horrors more than the Roger Corman flick.

  6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (70’s version) and The Thing are about it for me. Honorable mention for The Ring, though. In no way, shape or form does Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead better than Romero’s. Except the opening scene. That was one of the coolest I’ve ever seen in a horror flick.

  7. The Wizard of Oz we all know was actually the 10th remake.

    Also I liked the ending of the original Ocean’s Eleven better, though the new one was certainly a better movie.

  9. Definitly Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Though I liked the female Swedish actress more the story was just much more developed and interesting in the American version. And it did a good job leading us into the second movie, which I can’t wait to see.

  11. I liked the Dawn of the Dead remake when I saw it in theaters, but I watched it again recently and it simply doesn’t hold up. 8 years to let the excitement settle, as well as 8 years of growing up has changed my opinion. As a dumb action movie it works fine, but it doesn’t have the commentary the original has. the original is one of my favorite horror movies ever, so of course I’m biased.

    Also, I think this article should be focused on modern movie remakes. Yes the fly and the thing remakes are good because the technology and storytelling had advanced from the 1950s to the 1980’s. The new remakes (say, the last 15 years) offer nothing new. And as far as I’m concerned Scarface is not a remake. it’s a different story with the same title of an older movie.

    The only remake I’ve seen that I thought was decent is Predators. And before any of you say it wasn’t a remake, the film was nothing but references to the first film. It it referenced the original any more it would’ve been like the godawful Psycho remake with Vince Vaughn that was shot-for-shot.

  12. Just look at god damn Blow Out. Now THAT is one of the most brillant remake ever (and FAR FAR better than the original, Blow Up). And by the same director Brian De Palma, of course, Scarface.

  14. The Hills Have Eyes remake was vastly superior to the original. The new Dawn of the Dead was a pretty average horror movie, to say it was better than the original would be crazy.

    Evil Dead 2 is sort of a remake of the first one, and while both are awesome in their own way, the second is definitely better.

  19. I don’t have as much to say about movie/remake couples, because I haven’t seen too many of those pairings in their entirety. I will agree that The INCREDIBLE Hulk was so much better than “Hulk”, but that was more of a reboot. Same thing for the Punisher movies, although I’m not completely certain that the second one wasn’t just a sequel and I didn’t absolutely HATE the first one. I haven’t seen the original Mr. and Mrs. Smith movie, but I do know what it’s about at least, and I know that in the original the couple were not assassins. I remember watching the remake in the theater, and wondering “did Michael Bay make this movie?” Not that I have a problem with him and his explosions, like some people. It just seemed to me as if that the “they were rival assassins” plot point was added as an excuse to add the gunfights and explosions, in addition to being a good deviation from the original? As if the writers were in a meeting and said, “okay, we’re remaking Mr. and Mrs. Smith.””but it’s dull as hell””we need explosions!””but that won’t make sense””what if they were rival assissins but didn’t know it?””perfect”
    LOL

  22. I’m sorry but the American version of The Ring relied too much on cheap scares while the original built a sense of impending dread. The remake also explained too much; things are a lot scarier when there’s simply no explanation.

    I think most Americans regard the remake as superior simply because it’s the first version they saw. Just like how most gamers in their early to late 20s think Final Fantasy 7 is a masterpiece because it was their first exposure to the series (the best version in my opinion is 6).

  24. The Ring isn’t a better remake than the original, it was good but not better. I saw the original first and the part where the girl crawls out of the TV set is one of the scariest moments I have seen in movies. Imagine my disappointment when the American version recreates the scene in broad day light. Do they think setting it at night is too terrifying for North American viewers?

    I saw the original Dawn of the Dead recently and while I enjoy it, I didn’t see it as vastly better than the 2004 remake. Each of them have aspects that I enjoy and I would say other than the title and the theme of trapped in the mall against zombies, they are really two different movies.

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