Stop Trying To Remake the Classics

With all the movie remakes and sequels coming out recently, it feels like there is hardly any original content being created.

No less than 70 films this year were either a sequel, remake, reboot, spin-off or book adaptation to previous content.

There is a lack of creativity, and I could not be more disappointed as an active moviegoer.

Some of these films include a remake of the 1989 TV show, Baywatch (2017), a sequel to a movie from thirty-five years ago, Blade Runner 2049 (2017), and a film that I thought was original but ended up being a sequel to another film, Split (2017). I felt like the original Blade Runner (1982) was satisfactory on its own and did not need a sequel. Split was good until the end where it was revealed that it is the sequel to Unbreakable (2000). Baywatch was unnecessary, but considering how bad Chips (2017) turned out to be, I was prepared for disappointment.

Some of these remakes led me to think filmmakers want to play it safe instead of trying something new. They would rather put a new spin on something familiar than create a brand new story.

Remakes are not guaranteed successes. Murder on the Orient Express (2017), which was a remake of 1934 film based on a novel by Agatha Christie, did not do as well as Baby Driver (2017), a new and original film.

Remakes have not been doing well recently and maybe we will start to see new and original films like Dunkirk (2017), The Disaster Artist (2017) and The Shape of Water (2017) finally get the attention they deserve.