
And then they made 'Toy Story 3,' which everyone loved. What does this mean? Unfortunately, this didn't bring the two camps together. Whilst the latest 'Shrek' was proof that Hollywood is creatively bankrupt and in need of original characters, 'Toy Story 3' was a lucky fluke. Or "It's Toy Story. That's different."

I am generally against sequels, remakes and all of that stuff. That they're 're-booting' Spiderman like two weeks after they last did it seems ludicrous to me. My instincts are that it's purely based on business. Indeed, why wouldn't it be? This is one of the biggest franchises going, an undeniable pot of gold for the film studios. But then, maybe there's something I'm missing.
I like the new 'The Karate Kid.' It's a lot of fun. I felt bad feeling this, like I had gone against my own belief system. How dare I like it? Why does it bother me? Why should I not like it? It's things like "they shouldn't mess with the original," "it shouldn't be about Kung Fu," etc. But does it matter? Will a new 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' stop people re-watching the original? Does anyone lose sleep over the fact Gus Van Sant did a shot for shot remake of 'Psycho'? No, everyone just watches the original.
If My friend Pete sees the new 'Karate Kid' and thinks it's the greatest movie ever, and refuses to watch the original.. Why does it matter? I have a feeling it does, but why? Does it matter for me, or for him?

I hope you realize my questions are literally that, questions. I'm not saying it isn't important, or isn't different. But I feel that when we get angry about the remakes, we're not entirely conscious of why. Or maybe I'm just talking about me.
So why does it bother me so much when they remake stuff? And why does it bother me when I enjoy the remakes? Maybe it's just part of my personality. I like things to feel fresh and original. I place value on who came first. As for why does it bother me when I like them? That's a more complex question. Or maybe it's very simple--- I've been proven wrong. I enjoyed the the Karate Kid film and I LOVED 'Toy Story 3'-- and in fact, it felt great to be revisiting Woody, Buzz, and co-- and that familiarity is a good thing.
It's easy to take some supposed moral high-ground about how they should only re-make films for reasons of heart and story, instead of money. But, newsflash: 'Toy Story 3' was about money too.
To summarise, in case you haven't realised: I haven't got a clue what I'm talking about. I don't know where I stand on this issue. I identify with the outraged side, and I identify with the part of me that enjoys remakes when they're done well. In fact, maybe I just am the apathetic middle ground after all. (but if anyone in Hollywood ever remakes 'The Apartment,' I will actually kill them.)

I agree with your last comment. Anyone that just thinks of remaking The Apartment (or Some Like It Hot), they're gonna be in big, big trouble.
ReplyDeleteLooks to me like we're on roughly the same page. Here's my contribution... http://patrickoriley.blogspot.com/2010/07/sequels-remakes-and-reboots.html
ReplyDeleteHey, good blogathon and good post. Here's mine:
ReplyDeletehttp://mikesyoutalkingtome.blogspot.com/2010/07/remakesequelreboot-debate.html
I am generally against remakes, am a little dubious about reboots (especially so soon after the previous film, such as Spider-man), but I'm fine with sequels. Of course, most of them are cynical cash-ins, but some manage to exist simply to continue the story of the original, and that's fine with me.
ReplyDeleteOh, here's mine:
http://theintermittentsprocket.blogspot.com/2010/07/what-world-needs-now-sequels-remakes.html
Here's mine!
ReplyDeletehttp://nerd-like-me.blogspot.com/2010/07/sequels-remakes-and-reboots-good-bad.html
I don't know if I'm too late, but: http://fourofthem.blogspot.com/2010/07/sequels-remakes-and-reboots.html
ReplyDeleteSuch an interest topic, I'm not sure where I stand; though I shall try to whip something up within the next two hours or so.
ReplyDeletedid...did I make it?
ReplyDeletehttp://sugarycynicism.blogspot.com/2010/07/reboots-remakes-ander-resequels.html
Forgot to add the link after that marathon with the spacing. But learned a lot about html that I didn't know before: http://wellywoodwoman.blogspot.com/2010/07/sequels-remakes-and-reboots.html
ReplyDelete