Thoughts on...Movie Reboots

Now on to my part two on my thoughts about the current scoop of the film industry. Last time, I talked about the issues and strengths of sequels and now I want to talk about my thoughts on reboots. I consider a reboot to be a new take on a previous franchise/movie. They can also be something that changes mediums (like from TV to movies) and can feature a new spin to the series. There have been many great reboots, but now I feel like reboots are an easy way for a studio to not come up with an original idea and cash in on something that was previously popular and is still in the popular culture consciousness (*ahem Michael Bay*).

When I was younger, I remember when the first Spiderman series of movies came out. At the time I had been watching the animated series, so I ended up liking the first two movies. I'm more of a DC person, but I did enjoy this series (I heard the 3rd was terrible) so I was super surprised when they announced that they would already be redoing the series less than 10 years away from the original. I mean, it's not like the series wasn't successful at the box office. I haven't seen those movies but I ave heard that they are better/closer to the original content and a more fresh take, but honestly I don't feel like seeing a movie I've already seen.

Other movies like the Hulk needed a fresh take on the franchise as the first movie was a flop. The second movie was more well received but then Edward Norton turned down doing anything else so they had to go with a third actor (mark Ruffalo) to portray Hulk for the Avengers. Honestly I feel like when reboots are done right, they keep the old fans happy that the original is still that and they can also gain new fans. There have been other plenty terrible reboots like 101 Dalmations (live action) and Godzilla (even though my 8yr old self Loved that movie) that show that there are still a lot of duds amongst the great movies, so I hope movie studios get it together (like possibly with the new Godzilla, perhaps?)

Batman could be the ultimate example of constant reboots from over the years. What began as a campy/dark 80s flick spawned into 3 very different takes on the franchise, with different actors and varying successes. The most successful of the series has been when they are more compelling villains and a grittier/realistic Batman. Many people consider the Dark Knight Trilogy to be the one that other comic book movies are judged against (up there with the Avengers) with its success and it content.

I think what ultimately makes a movie reboot successful is the time passage between the movies and a quality story that pays homage to the original without trying to completely duplicate it. Many times this has been seen with foreign language reboots like The Grudge, The Ring or the Departed. All of them have origins overseas and were able to successfully take the key elements from the originals and make the movie something fresh and unique. Until, of course it get its sequel, but that's a whole different story.