A topic that needs to be brought back up is how modern remakes of old films are not as good as the original. One good reason could be the different eras they are scripted and filmed in.   

Usually, a classic story will get retold in the modern eye and naturally it will be more loved because it caters to its relevant audience, but it’s not always a better movie. Take She’s All That, for example. A movie that has been, in one way or another, retold over and over where the popular guy dates the nerd girl or outcast. The modern retelling, He’s All That, embarks on the same journey only the roles are reversed and it’s all about social media and being likable and for some reason has Kourtney Kardashian in it.

Another way modern remakes are ruined is when writers get ahead of themselves and blur the original story.

A writer or director may love a certain story and want to pay tribute by recreating it, which generally is fine, but most directors add details that do not pertain to the original story and start to make their own.                            

Example: The Manchurian Candidate from 1962, which is about US soldiers being captured and brainwashed by communists during the Korean War, and when the war ends and they return home, the commander starts having nightmares.

The remake tells the same story but changes key features, such as it is years after the Gulf War and instead of his entire platoon being ambushed, only Ben Marco receives an implant in his back which causes his nightmares. 

Of course, not all remakes are bad. A popular one is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) originally done in 1971. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Willy Wonka is preferred over Gene Wilder’s today. Another example could be The Parent Trap (1998). Because the original was from the 60s, a lot of people don’t even know it is a remake because it was so well done.

These are only a couple of successful movies; there are many others that follow the same formula of half-paying tribute to a movie and half-writing a different script, and the watcher can get lost in what’s what to the original lore of the movie, especially if they are remaking something from a franchise. 

It is important for there to be some diversity in the film making process as for it not to be the exact same movie over again, but the details should make sense to the plot and characters of the film. In terms of classic, story, and even cameo, the modern remakes just don’t live up to the original.