Not My Childhood
A small request to people who make movies in Hollywood, please stop taking a major dump on my childhood! If you have seen the disgusting trailer for the unnecessary sequel/ reboot of the Terminator franchise, Terminator: Genisys, you know what I mean. If you didn't think Terminator: Salvation was not a blemish enough, here you go. I am not saying rebooting or resetting franchises are wrong. After 20 films it was good to reset 007. And after 6 television series and 10 feature films, Star Trek was due for reboot.
But recently I have heard more "reboots" are coming. Disney is looking to reboot the Indiana Jones series without Ford, Spielberg & Lucas, and with Chris Pratt in the lead. One big movie does not an Indy make, I liked Guardians of the Galaxy, but you ain't Indy. And reason for the reboot, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was so bad, it needs to deleted from the history. First is not that bad, yes it is the weakest of the four movies. But is still a fun time at the movies. But, the right actor could carry on the tradition without a reboot. Remember Raiders was set in 1936, Temple in 1935, Crusade in 1912 & 1938, and Kingdom in 1957. And a nice tid-bit of information, Indiana Jones was born when Eon Productions turned down Spielberg's interest in directing a Bond film.
Sony may or may not reboot Spider-man? Will there be a third or rebooted Tomb Raider film? A possible new Zorro?
But is just not reboots. Growing up, three of my favorite shows were The A-Team, The Dukes Of Hazzard and Miami Vice. All three of these films were utter shite! Miami Vice was shocking in the fact the director Michael Mann was the Executive Producer of the TV show in the 80s. So literally he screwed up his own project. The team behind Dukes openly said they wanted to do Smokey & The Bandit, hence Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg instead of Danny Devito. So remake that movie, don't rework something else. FYI, if that is your take on the Bandit movies, you missed it. And before you say that the Dukes were based on the less family friendly Moonshiners. It wasn't, it was inspired by, not based on. Different concepts. As for the group that made The A-Team film, did anyone actually watch the TV show. The A-Team was a show that was about a group of Commandos who help people, and had to do it with very limited resources. But the movie had none of the charm. Bradley Cooper's take on Face was horrible. It was so horrible, I can only now start to enjoy Mister Cooper's work. Rampage Jackson did not have like ability of Mr. T. And the less said about Sharlto Copley as "Howling Mad" Murdock the better. The great casting of my man Liam was wasted. There was this stupid plot about a CIA operative who did not really exist. Jessica Biel was added to the cast as the DCIS agent looking to capture the A-Team, was the only interesting part of the film, but was given very little to play with. And the story was more of a political statement about private security firms like Blackwater.
As for more, I have read that there are plans to bring Knight Rider to the screen as a buddy comedy. Starring, hand to God, Chris Pratt and Danny McBride. But the question becomes, will they respect the material? I think not.
Now one can change genres, and be respectful of the source material. Like 1987's Dragnet or 1995's The Brady Bunch Movie. Both films could be considered parodies of the originals, but are respectful of the source materials.
After 5 movies, with an unconnected continuity, two spin-off television series, an animated series, and an Anime feature, Highlander is a prime candidate for reboot. Particularly the fifth film which did not even get a theatrical release. But how is the question. Will they understand the heart of the character, his struggle to survive in a world where he is alone, and those he loves die? But they'll get someone who did a kickass Super Bowl ad and to put together scene after scene of sword fights, in the modern world. It has been announced that Dave "The Animal" Bautista has been cast as the Kurgan. Yes he was good in Guardians Of The Galaxy and is in the new Bond film Spectre, but does he have chops to be this villain. Clancy Brown, brought a realism to this character, I am not sure this professional wrestler can. Another report has production is looking for Tom Cruise to play the role of Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez, the role originally played by Sean Connery in The Highlander and Highlander II: The Quickening. Mister Cruise is an extremely talented actor, but this is not a role for him. There is an air, only a European can bring to it. If it was me, I'm looking for either Antonio Banderas or Pierce Brosnan. And who plays MacLeod?
Other times, you get news of casting that gets you excited. Example, Bewitched, when you first hear the cast, Nicole Kidman as Samantha, Will Ferrell as Darren, Shirley MacLaine as Endora and Michael Caine as Maurice. Directed by romantic comedy queen the late Nora Ephron. This is going to be awesome! It was not. It was some jackassed thing about a real witch Isabel Bigelow being cast in a remake of Bewitched, with a d-bag star playing Darren. And apparently Sony has been pitching a sequel series around, this time focusing on Tabitha's daughter Daphne. At least the original spin-off Tabitha attempt to be as sweet as the original.
A huge excuse made, well this is how I thought it should be. And it is always about the original missing the mark. Apparently they did not, as it is considered a classic enough you are remaking it.
And I am not saying you have to be religiously loyal to the original source material. Two prime examples of understanding this are two Sci-Fi adaptations. 1998's Lost In Space and 2003's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Lost In Space was a series that air on CBS from 1965 to 1968. At its core, it is a story of a family, and the love this family has for each other. And while the movie, does up the effects, at the core it's a movie about the love of the Robinsons for each other. The original Battlestar Galactica aired on ABC in 1978. And it was not a commercial success, but had a cult like following. It was coming a year after Star Wars and a year before Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It had a failed attempt with an ill conceived follow up/ spin off Galactica 1980. But eventually Star Trek: The Next Generation alumnus Ronald Moore, made it a morality tale. And created four seasons of the best sci-fi on television.
This summer found a great adaptation. Denzel Washington replaced Edward Woodward as Robert McCall aka The Equalizer. The story was modernized, and slightly more violent. But the film ended with him posting an ad on Craigslist, identifying himself as The Equalizer.
Sony has just released the graphic for HE-MAN And The Masters of The Universe, plus a still of Battle Cat. Is this a good sign, or just an artistic reach around? Who knows? It could be a great look at a childhood dream or it could be another disappointment.
If you are going to adapt something from the past, please respect your source.