Michael Foster-Sanders
editor-in-chief
Remakes and sequels to classic movies for the most part suck, and are cash grabs by studios. So, why do people still go see them hoping the experience will top the original movie?
For example, this past weekend the sequel nobody asked for, “Coming 2 America,” debuted on Amazon Prime, and the backlash it received on social media was hilarious. Did people really expect a sequel to a 31-year-old comedy to be an Oscar award-winning feature?
The original movie was great because Eddie Murphy was in his comedic prime. The story was a one-off, and the world was a different place back in the 1980s. Murphy is now 59 years old and isn’t the same person he was back then. If he tried to be that person, it would come off so cringey. Also, the X-rated humor would offend so many people in this cancel culture age that it might not have even gotten a greenlight.
Remakes to movies are a different game altogether. Unless the original movie is dated or horrible, a remake should not be done.
The “Halloween” movie franchise comes to mind when this topic is brought up. In 1978 John Carpenter’s “Halloween” is the very definition of a classic.
In 2007, the task of remaking this film was given to Rob Zombie, and he was screwed right out the gate. How can one improve on a near-flawless original film? If he changes too much, then what’s the point of it being a remake? If he changes too little, then why can’t a person just watch the original film?
There are rare occasions where someone will make a sequel and do the source material justice or blow the original movie out of the water. Director James Cameron has done this with “Aliens.”
Cameron took the claustrophobic slasher-type movie atmosphere of the movie “Alien” and made the sequel a war movie about having survivor’s remorse and post-traumatic stress syndrome, trumping the original movie in every way.
Long story short: Hollywood, cut the malarky.
