The Best and Worst Movie Reboots - they didn't need to dig the corpse up.

[MartyG]

Holywood is obsessed with rebooting movies that don't need to be remade or reimaged.

There are so many dreadful remakes, done to cash in on the name or license whilst destroying the legacy of the original.

It's easy to list the ones that were awful, because there are so many of them but what about the ones that actually worked?

Which movie reboot do you think did a good job, and which ones do you wish had remained only in the imagination of the screen writer?

[wakka]

Brian de Palma's Scarface is, for me, the best remake ever. Swapping Chicago, an Italian American and bootleg liquor for Miami, a Cuban and cocaine was a stroke of genius.

I think what's special about it (apart from the fact that it's simply a great film in its own right), is that it actually complements the original, rather than seeking to replace it or simply cash in on it. It's a true reimagining, and it feels like it has genuine artistic reason for existing.

Also, it has a dope soundtrack, it's infinitely quotable, and Al Pacino is brilliant. Chichi get the yayo.

[QualityChimp]

Off the top of my head, with films I've seen both versions of, I'd say:
Ocean's Eleven - The Sinatra one isn't anywhere near as fun.
Thomas Crown Affair - The original is loads of moody shots of beach buggies
Vanilla Sky - Spanish original is good, but this was brilliant.
The Departed - Like the Infernal Affairs, but this was a streamlined version with a great cast.
The Fly - This was a masterclass in reboots. Brundle's slow de/evolution to Brundlefly was intense.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers* - *Is this a remake as the original star makes a cameo? I'll say yes and it's amazing.
12 Monkeys - La Jetée is interesting and clever, but the remake is superior.
The Mummy - Brendan Fraser's series were a Indly-like joyride.
King Kong - I like the Jackson remake. Get lost!
The Crazies - Bit more coherent than the original.

Special note:
Dawn of the Dead - I don't think this is better than the original, but it is a very good example of a remake done right.

Films that are NOT remakes, but re-interpretations of the original source material:
Casino Royale - nothing like the silly spoof film or Fleming's book, but still brilliant.
Dredd - Nothing to do with the Stallone film, but blows it out of Peach Trees.
The Thing - Let's get this straight, this isn't a remake of "The Thing From Another World", it's a different interpretation of the novel "Who Goes There?".

[Atticus]

Dawn of the Dead is a great shout. Really compliments the original while standing on its own two feet. It takes everything that's great and adds a ton of new ideas (shooting lookalike zoms with gun shop Andy was genius).

I like Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear too. It's a film that's gotten better with age and subsequent viewings.

[QualityChimp]

I like Martin Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear too. It's a film that's gotten better with age and subsequent viewings.

I've not seen the original, so didn't list it, but it really is an amazing film.

However, I would venture to say that Cape Feare is an even better remake...

->Open Spoiler<-

[Atticus]

lol @ Moe

[wheelaa]

Lots of great ones there QualityChimp damn! King King though...lol...

Disney isn't really my thing, but the recent The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast films are quite well regarded I think.

The Cat and the Canary.

Would The Force Awakens count? Pretty much Episode IV...

Planet of the Apes series (not the Wahlberg guff).

[QualityChimp]

With King Kong, I definitely enjoyed it and thought the Skull Island scenes were a thrill before we even saw Kong.
I saw the original B&W King Kong at a cinema and it definitely elevates the experience and gave me an insight to the experience it would have given moviegoers at the time.

I even really enjoyed the 360 launch game!

It's not amazing, but I definitely would choose the remake over the original to watch.

As for Planet of the Apes, I avoided those as the Wahlberg one is a remake, but inferior and the others are sequels.
Saw the second one in 3D recently and really enjoyed it.

[Asura]

the recent The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast films

oh, yeah, the **** ones

[teddymeow]

Breathless (1983 starring Richard Gere) is better than the French original À Bout de Souffle (1960).

#Highbrow

[Neon Ignition]

Yeah, I'm happy to ignore the $$$ they drew in for the mouse house and put the entire live action conveyor belt of remakes under the bus for this one. They range from abysmal through to passable at best