The new Robocop has reached theatres, and the response from the audience is relatively unsurprising, especially given the venom spewed at the announcement of the project. When it comes to remakes (or reboots, or revamps, or the dread “RE-IMAGINING”), I’m often accused of being what the kids these days call “a hater.” This isn’t entirely inaccurate, but it’s an over-simplification of my tendency to have slightly higher regard for the original version of most things. Still, I have a great affection for Zack Snyder’s version of ‘Dawn Of The Dead’, a film different enough from it’s progenitor that I can enjoy it as a separate, distinct entity (and the lovely Sarah Polley doesn’t hurt.) I actually enjoy the Mannfred Mann cover of ‘Blinded By The Light’ more than Springsteen’s original take, even as I am horrified that anyone would try to recapture the magic of ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ for a new audience. This dichotomy leads to today’s query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) admits to enjoying the new Star Trek, up until the point where General Marcus ruined everything, but that’s another story, asking: Do you find a rebooted/revamped version of a property affects your enjoyment of the original?
6 Comments
Reboots never affect my opinion of the original, no. I don’t see the point letting sequels/reboots/remakes colour your opinion of that which has gone before- the original version is still there, after all.
It’s easier to not get tied up in emotional knots when you can just enjoy the old film and pretend the new stuff ain’t there.
I think it does absolutely, be it thinking it far better than the remake, or far worse, or any degree in between. Just like 80’s Batman by Tim Burton changed how i saw the 60’s Batman series, Batman begins changed my view of the 80’s Movie. You simply can’t look at a new product based upon an older material, and NOT have it affect your views of the original.
I dont think it affects the original in my case, but it certainly affects everything else. Like how now Nolan’s style Batman is the only right one after films were so successful.
The thing about reboots for me is I hate having to specify I’m talking about say Evil Dead and have to say the ‘original.’ So in a way reboots don’t hamper my enjoyment of the original per se, but only when discussing them.
I’m afraid to say it does sometimes. I felt it especially with AVP when the badass invincible forces of nature became much less formidable. I wrestled with myself when crystal meth came out but did not want my favourite movies diminished. I think it helps to have your own personal cannon. To this day if the final question on who wants to be a millionaire was how many indiana jones films have there been I’d have to answer 3.
As usual, my answer is “It depends”. Sometimes I’ll like a reboot/remake better than the original source, which means I’ll see the original source in a different way. Sometimes I’ll find a reboot/remake actually makes me like the original material more. And sometimes I don’t really have any preference and things remain the same.