If Not "Ghostbusters," When Is It Okay To Remake Movies?

[CBR News]

After the first "Ghostbusters" reboot trailer, Alex Zalben looks at the long history of remakes, and wonders why they provoke a negative reaction.


Full article here.

[The Voice of Reason]

The only point i want to make is the case of quality. There have been some exceptional Scooby related cartoons since the 1960s and there have been a few forgettable. If something is done well (based on its target audience) then where is the bother. That doesn't mean we need to remake the Godfather.

[MoonDog]

Why do we hate remakes? For the most part, remakes are awful. For the Ghostbusters remake the only hook has been "it's women instead of men". This seems to have been confirmed by what we've seen in the trailer. It's Paul Feig's usual work, loud, obnoxious, crude, unfunny women. The only reason to call it Ghostbusters is to try and draw fans of the original. Have a cast of whoever you want: women, black, asian, etc.. At least put some effort into making a good movie.

[Archang3ll]

After the first "Ghostbusters" reboot trailer, Alex Zalben looks at the long history of remakes, and wonders why they provoke a negative reaction.


Full article here.

One of the BEST articles I have read in a long while. That and I whole-heartedly agree with EVERY word. The only thing I would add is that for me personally, a lot of the remakes have indeed been not just better, but SO MUCH MORE better. The Karate Kid remake and the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake immediately come to mind. I HATED the originals of those two respective franchises. And before anyone accuses me of being too young to remember the originals, I'm 47 years old - I saw the originals when they initially came out. And they sucked IMO. Like the article says, no one is destroying someone's childhood. Last I checked, no one is FORCING you to go see the new versions. As Jay-Z once said - "...You like my old s**t? Go listen to my old s**t. But don't expect me to keep making the same ole s**t..."

[Zevad]

I never had a problem with an all female Ghostbusters team. When you think about it, it's a very 1980s thing to do. A female counterpart to a male concept. He-man and She-Ra comes to mind. In Real Ghostbusters,Janine, was a Ghostbuster.

No, what bugged me was it being a reboot. It could easily have been a sequel/spin off where the old Ghostbusters are semi-retired and decide to franchise or hand over the reigns to a new generation. Simple as that. A reboot in this case was not necessary.

The other reason is I don't much like Feig's previous movies and the actresses chosen to play the GB are ones I don't particularly find funny.

When I watched the trailer my impression of it was that it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't anything special either. Kind of bland really.

So I'll wait until it's on Netflix or Amazon Prime. No excitement was generated in me to watch it in the theater.

And no I'm not a misogynistic male. I'm not intimated by strong women. Though I guarantee you the fake Feminist & SJWS will claim sexism, misogyny, and fear of strong women is why some men won't go to see it.

Sheesh.

[longbowhunter]

I seem to be in the minority who doesn't have a strong opinion about the movie one way or the other. As a man in my 30's, Ghostbusters was a big part of my childhood. Yet, I don't feel entitled to anything because of that. I kinda just don't care about this movie. Truth be told, I probably wouldn't have cared even if the original cast had gotten back together for a Ghostbusters 3.

[Coin Biter]

One of the BEST articles I have read in a long while. That and I whole-heartedly agree with EVERY word. The only thing I would add is that for me personally, a lot of the remakes have indeed been not just better, but SO MUCH MORE better. The Karate Kid remake and the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake immediately come to mind. I HATED the originals of those two respective franchises. And before anyone accuses me of being too young to remember the originals, I'm 47 years old - I saw the originals when they initially came out. And they sucked IMO. Like the article says, no one is destroying someone's childhood. Last I checked, no one is FORCING you to go see the new versions. As Jay-Z once said - "...You like my old s**t? Go listen to my old s**t. But don't expect me to keep making the same ole s**t..."

I haven't seen the Karate Kid remake, but any remake of the Karate Kid called the Karate Kid when the kid is being taught Kung Fu, deserves some kind of gold star for cynicism It is reminiscent of such other great naming sins, such as the hilariously misnamed Krakatoa, East of Java.

So far as Ghostbusters is concerned, I don't have an opinion on the remake, because I haven't seen it yet. Nor has the writer of this article, or anyone commenting on it. So, y'know, I think I'm going to reserve judgement on whether it's **** or not until I do. A trailer - good or bad - is no guide at all.

There is one point I'd make on the article, though. It's true that there have been many excellent remakes where many people are unaware that they actually are remakes. But that doesn't really relate to a remake of Ghostbusters or other popular 80s films. The films in which the originals were relatively obscure weren't remade particularly to capitalise on the original's success, and so the "cashgrab" criticism doesn't really apply.

[kalorama]

Remakes only provoke a "negative reaction" from the segment of the audience (diehard fandom) from which I provokes a negative reaction. Most of the rest of the world doesn't really think any of this is a big deal.

[Doctor Know]

I haven't seen the Karate Kid remake, but any remake of the Karate Kid called the Karate Kid when the kid is being taught Kung Fu, deserves some kind of gold star for cynicism It is reminiscent of such other great naming sins, such as the hilariously misnamed Krakatoa, East of Java.

To be fair, Karate has two translations. Karate-jitsu translates to "Chinese Hand Techniques". Karate-Do translates to "Empty Hand Way". Karate is two words, with Kara either meaning Empty or China and Te meaning Hand.

So them calling the Jayden Smith/Jackie Chan movie Karate Kid isn't totally inaccurate. Plus they used to exact same screen play as the original 1984 movie, so there's legal matters that mandate it be called the same as the original.

[Xofer]

I might go see the new Ghosbusters movie, I'm not sure yet, but my sister lost all interest after watching the trailer. She said it looked incredibly bad.

I'm so ashamed. All these years, and I never realized she was a misogynist or a pissy man-baby. This is going to make family reunions awkward.

[srl73]

The trailer gave off a "corporate franchise reboot" vibe. In other words, boring, bland and by-the-numbers unfunny jokes.
Which is not what people were expecting from the talent involved.

[t hedge coke]

Fantastically on-target article. Especially nice to read as I began, tonight, to slip into the ennui of maybe-I-think-these-look-fine-but-not-great-because-I-lack-the-passion-and-standards-of-the-angrier-people, which is a complicated feeling and kind of boring.

All these years, and I never realized she was a misogynist or a pissy man-baby. This is going to make family reunions awkward.

Of course, the article didn't say she was, either, since the article lists an entire spectrum of comments, "this looks terrible," being one, on its own.

[Xofer]

Of course, the article didn't say she was, either, since the article lists an entire spectrum of comments, "this looks terrible," being one, on its own.

Be fair though, how much of the piece acknowledged that sometimes perfectly rational people may not want to watch a remake because the remake is awful? Instead, it read as a hatchet job.

[Coin Biter]

To be fair, has two translations. Karate-jitsu translates to "Chinese Hand Techniques". Karate-Do translates to "Empty Hand Way". Karate is two words, with Kara either meaning Empty or China and Te meaning Hand.

So them calling the Jayden Smith/Jackie Chan movie Karate Kid isn't totally inaccurate. Plus they used to exact same screen play as the original 1984 movie, so there's legal matters that mandate it be called the same as the original.

Thank you, that's interesting, regarding the translation, although it still seems a bit odd to me, given how the terms are popularly understood and would be understood by an American audience. On the re-use of the screen play, would there be legal concerns restricting them from a change of name? That seems surprising.

[Doctor Know]

Thank you, that's interesting, regarding the translation, although it still seems a bit odd to me, given how the terms are popularly understood and would be understood by an American audience. On the re-use of the screen play, would there be legal concerns restricting them from a change of name? That seems surprising.

Yeah there would be legal reasons for them being unable to change the name. They changed the characters names and where the film took place, but the plot and story remain the same. Also Karate Kid is a trademark that DC Comics owns, because of the Legion of Superheros character. You can see a "thank you" to DC in the credits of both films. The film was renamed "Kung Fu Dream" in China for cultural sensitivities reasons, but in the US the least amount of red tape they have to cut through the better.