3 Movies That Could Not Be Remade

Remakes. Hollywood is remaking everything in sight. It seems that no one is safe. But every once in a while there is a movie that comes along and its lightning in a bottle. It creates such a following that it solidifies itself in pop culture to the point that remaking it would be an abomination. Here’s a few classics that in my opinion have stood not only the test of time so far, but continue to find new audiences every day.

Sure Hollywood could remake any of these movies at anytime, but the magic that caught the attention of so many would be artificial. It just simply would not be the same.  See if you agree…


GHOSTBUSTERS

To this day Ghostbusters remains a classic. This movie seemed to do everything right. Great story, great effects, great comedy and most of all great cast. I can’t imagine anyone taking over the reigns from any of these actors (yes, yes I know all about the animated series, which was great in its own way, but was not the movie). And that theme song! 27 years later and everyone still knows it!

Take one look around the net and you can see that even though we have not seen proton packs and full torso vaporous apparitions on the screen in 22 years, the movie still has a devout following. People are still out there making home-made proton packs, PKE meters, uniforms, the works! I dare you to go to one major con this summer not bump into at least one Ghostbuster.

Even though the cast say that they knew they had a hit before filming was even finished, I doubt they knew that the movie would still be in demand 30 years later. Here’s hoping Hollywood will leave this one alone. Even though we have a sequel (possibly) on the way the original will remain an eternal classic.


BACK TO THE FUTURE

Who would have thought a failed car would become so iconic? I don’t know anyone who can look at a DeLorean and not immediately ask about its flux capacitor. Personally I know if I ever get the opportunity to drive one the first thing coming out of my mouth is “Let’s see if you bastards can do 90!” right before flooring it.

Back to the Future is a movie that was not afraid to date itself. As a matter of fact it depended on just that. The 80s stand out as a decade that  people love to reminisce about, whether it was the ridiculous clothes they wore, the giant (quite flammable) hair they had, or how back in my day Optimus Prime didn’t have flames on him (that’s a topic for another day).

Back to the Future is just a fun movie that will make you laugh and and never ceases to entertain. I do not think anyone could ever capture the magic that Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox produced in these films. The DeLorean is practically another character! What would they replace it with now? Some bright-colored sports car with flames and all leather interior? Let’s hope we never find out.


STAR WARS

Do I really have to explain why I don’t think they can ever remake Star Wars? Really? Okay I will anyways. (For this lets assume I am talking about Episode IV, but really this applies to the whole trilogy. Yes TRILOGY.)

Star Wars was never expected to become the phenomenon it has. Many in the industry thought it would run its course in the theaters and end up never being seen again. How could they have known this little science fiction movie would become a way of life for some people, spawning sequels, prequels, toys, shirts, books, etc? The list is endless!

How could you reboot something that for a lot of people is considered one of the most important movies of all time? You can’t! I don’t think even Hollywood has the guts to try to convince George Lucas to remake any of these movies. Although with as much as he has altered them with Special Editions, Special DVD Editions, and who knows what on the Blu-Ray coming out this fall, I would not put it past him to start from scratch instead of making Han shoot 3rd this time. But who knows?

There you have it! 3 movies I do not think could ever be remade and capture the same magic as the originals. I am sure dome day we’ll see remakes of at least one of these, but i doubt they will pack the same punch or be remembered with as much fondness. Did I miss anything? What movie do you think is so timeless that a remake would be impossible?

Episode I Syndrome

With the current onslaught of comic book and “geek” movies its hard to tell which ones are good. Sure you can rely on the media and movie reviews, but if you’re anything like me, some of your favorite movies have been panned by major critics.

So what is a geek seeking to avoid seeing their hopes and dreams crushed on celluloid to do? Trust your friends? They wouldn’t steer you wrong. They like the comics you do, the movies you do, and they would never lead you down the dark path right?

I had 15 total minutes of screen time, 2 lines and no backstory and people STILL swore I was their favorite character ever!

Don’t be so sure! I seem to remember way back in 1999 there was a certain movie that came out that almost every fan of sci-fi and fantasy had been waiting 20+ years to see. Of course I am talking about Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

When that movie came out I saw it on the first day, first showing with friends. I had been waiting (literally) almost all my life to see this film and find out the real origin of Darth Vader. The original 3 movies were a part of almost every geek’s “stuck on a deserted island” collection, so this couldn’t possibly be bad right? Right?!

After leaving the theater I talked myself into believing that I had just witnessed the movie I had gone in wanting to see. When talking to my friends I got the feeling that they did the same thing. We ignored it like a bad smell in a packed elevator that no one wants to own up to. We knew the movie was bad but no one was willing to admit all the hype was for a pretty terrible film that crapped on almost everything we liked about the originals. After all It was Star Wars, and after not having new stories for so long, we were grateful for anything.

Of course eventually you realize you are lying to yourself and can finally admit that Episode I was a galaxy far, far away from the movie you walked in to see. But it didn’t end there…

Sure, critics hate me but they don't read comics. I can always depend on those suckers... er... fans to bail me out!

How many movies do you see (now especially with Twitter) completely mixed reviews for? Geeks, casual viewers, etc. all seem to have different opinions, but I have noticed that geeks, for the most part, seem to side with their movies no matter what. A movie has to be Batman & Robin bad before geeks, as a whole, will completely pan it. Looking back I think (at least for my generation) Episode I was the first movie that we hyped so much to ourselves that we refused to admit “Wow that sucked!” until Episode II came along and stomped out any hope we had for the new trilogy.

I love movies and I love comics, which is why I may be able to see a movie and say, “Yeah, it wasn’t bad,” before it has a chance to sink in. But then the slow realization of how I just wasted 2 hours of my life and am completely disappointed sets in and I realize that no amount of mental trickery will make this a good film in the end.

Everyone will always have movies they are excited for, especially those of us who love seeing characters we grew up with brought to life on the big screen. And yes, we will always have a hard time accepting when a movie we have looked forward to for so long was just a complete stinker. We may even tell others how awesome it is and how you would “get it” if you read the comics, books, etc., but in the end you realize that the movie just flat out sucked. For my generation, I think “Episode I Syndrome” is as good a fairly accurate name…