I agree with pretty much everything the Guardian article says: the basic concept is sound, but works primarily in a feature-length but repetitive (TV, not movie) format.
If nothing else, a movie would be forced to up the ante, add to the personal drama of the title character, make it about him. But "Columbo" isn't about the detective. The detective is simply the avatar of justice — rumpled, underestimated, seemingly blind, even laughed at, but inexorable. No, "Columbo" is about the murderers of the week, how they delude themselves into thinking they have figured out the perfect crime, and how truth and justice slowly, quietly, but inevitably prevail.
That's hard to do on the big screen.
As to whether "Columbo" should be remade … yeah, I can see that, too. He's iconic without being (to my mind) tied completely to a single actor (and it's a tribute to Falk that's the case). Like I said, it's never about Columbo, but about the murderer.
Originally shared by +Mark Means:
T.V.
As much as I think Ruffalo could pull off a passable Columbo, I'm still not sure it'd be a good idea to try a "remake", "reboot", or "reimagining".
A reboot of Columbo is a fantastic idea – apart from one enormous flaw
Mark Ruffalo will be great as the character Peter Falk made famous – but not if he persists in making a big-screen version of the made-for-television detective
Agreed. However, I wonder how a Colombo-like story would serve as a novel.
+Victor Powell Pretty well, I'd think — the novel focuses on the mind of the murderer, with the (recurring) Columbo character being the ultimately successful antagonist.
It would be a little weird — a different style for each installment — but I think it would work.
+Dave Hill This article and reading the commentary really sparked an idea and I've laid out a rough sketch of one along the same lines as you've mentioned. I think given the unique POV and presupposition–if executed right, could go over very well.
Something to investigate.