Some SF remakes (and extensions) on the boards right now — about which the usual mixed bag of impressions and concerns.
- When Worlds Collide: Certainly possibilities, less as a sci-fi disaster flick but as a “how people react when only some people can be saved” film.
- Terminator: Salvation: I confess, not a tremendous amount of interest.
- Robocop: Um, ditto. And I say that as a fan of the original. Which, really, is not that old.
- Ghostbusters III: Um … only if it’s more like I and not like II, which seems improbable.
- Creature from the Black Lagoon: I don’t see how this could not be hokey in this day and age. If nothing else, the “there’s a mysterious primative monster lurking in the jungle” meme has been done to death by SciFri Channel, let alone a zillion other flicks.
- Flash Gordon: Despite the death of the low-budget TV series, I think there’s plenty of room for a reimagining of the pulp classic.
- Westworld: The original was too much fun, but it could probably be reworked for today. Though it will be hard to beat the Terminator-like efficiency of Yul Brynner. “Draw …”
- Logan’s Run: Another one where the rather hokey and limited nature of the original movie makes this one well worth mining for a remake. My teenage brain also remembers there was a lot more obsession with hot sex in the book than in the movie. Hmmmmm. Maybe that was my teenage brain.
- Forbidden Planet: I would be out picketing somewhere against this if Joe Straczynski weren’t writing it, with his professed love and respect for the original. As it is, here’s hoping.
- Frankenstein: Again? I guess it’s an archetypal tale.
- Fahrenheit 451: Certainly the issues of literacy, government and societal control of ideas, and censorship, couldn’t have any resonance with modern audiences any more, could it?
- The Illustrated Man: Not a huge Bradbury fan, to be honest, but this could be interesting.
(via GoaF)
I don’t know. I never like remakes. Maybe for younger folks who don’t have such fond memories of the originals. Remember when we went to see The Creature from the Black Lagoon and It Came from Outer Space in 3D? Whit Bissell! Russell Johnson! You can’t beat that!.
I doubt they will ever beat Whit Bissell, muffled and being mauled by the creature through the porthole.
And, yes, ICfOS and Russell Johnson. I remember the experience well.
How about “The Day the Earth Stood Still” with Keanu Reeves as Klaatu? That looks like a plot waiting to be ruined…
From what I’ve seen in trailers (it doesn’t count as something coming up since it’s already in release), it looks interesting — just not much if anything resembling the original.