Sci Fi Remakes

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

Ok .. Consensus people .. are Sci Fi remakes better than the original. My view ..yes they are.

1. The Day The Earth Stood Still (2002) I thought was better than the 1951 version. I liked the story structure in the remake and it proved Wil Smith should keep his kid out of movies.

2. The Time Machine (2002) I thought it was better than the 1960 version because Alexander Hartdegen had a better reason to travel back plus the Eloi weren't morons .. just prey. The Uber Morlock was a good addition and Hartdegens Time Machine was way cooler in design than HG Wells 1960 design.

[Wussell (Russell)]

I preferred the original versions, and yes, Wil Smith should keep his kid well away from movies

[Stonius (Markus)]

I'll tell you what *is due for a remake and could be done quite well - 'Day of the Triffids'.



Though I hope they never remake 'Back to the Future' - or 'Deep Impact', for that matter- but for completely opposite reasons.


Markus

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

Originally Posted by Stonius

I'll tell you what *is due for a remake and could be done quite well - 'Day of the Triffids'.



Though I hope they never remake 'Back to the Future' - or 'Deep Impact', for that matter- but for completely opposite reasons.


Markus

I thought the 1981 BBC TV series Day of the Triffids was pretty good.

The remake of War of The Worlds wasn't too bad even though Tom Cruise was in it. Dakota Fanning constant screaming was down right annoying. CGI was good ... acting .. meh. Morgan Freeman instead of Richard Burton doing the narration .. good.

[Astronovice (Calvin)]

Anyone remember The Blob, a large red jelly creature with evil intent?

Picture the scene; a really tense moment in the film, my now wife and myself, front row upstairs balcony seats with the balcony wall in front of us having a nice flat shelf like top. My wife reaches for the opened KiaOra orange drink sne had put on the balcony wall in front of her, whilst continuing to have eyes glued to the screen.

Oops! There goes the orange juice down on to the downstairs audience seated below. Instant pandemonium

[AdamJL]

A Forbidden Planet remake would be amazing
So nihilistic, suits my personality perfectly

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

When I was a kid I read a trilogy by John Christopher titled The White Mountains/The City of Gold and Lead/Pool of Fire. In the mid 80's in a joint production between the BBC and Seven Australia they adapted Christopher's Tripod Trilogy into TV series titled 'The Tripods' which for its time was very good. Trouble is they only adapted the first two books and never finished the series. I would like to see a modern remake of this trilogy and maybe the fourth prequel book 'When Tripods Came'

https://youtu.be/FP9B8ZKV2ys

[Andy01 (Andy)]

I'd like to see "the Andromeda Strain" remade, it's been about 50+ years and it's topical too!

[Wussell (Russell)]

Originally Posted by Andy01

I'd like to see "the Andromeda Strain" remade, it's been about 50+ years and it's topical too!

[DarkArts]

There are few re-makes I think surpass the originals, The Day The Earth Stood Still and The Time Machine included. I'd include a few other bad re-makes: Robocop, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ghostbusters and Total Recall.

There have been some good ones, though: War of the Worlds (2005), Dune (TV series vs film, though really it was a separate adaptation of the book series); Invaders from Mars (1986) vs the 1950s original if only because it was so corny; Battlestar Galactica (TV series); V (another TV series).

The Andromeda Strain is a classic and, personally, I'd rather not see it re-made. I'd prefer to see new sci-fi or more book adaptations rather than re-makes of older movies.

On that note ... if you're the kind of person who's usually read the book, you might enjoy this comedy video:
Axis of Awesome - Rage Of Thrones (Warning: Strong Language)

[lazjen (Chris)]

That was an awesome video.

I think I'm also in the camp that new SF, etc would be better than continual remakes.

[glend (Glen)]

Honestly there is a long list of present day actors that should not be allowed anywhere near any sci-fi movies, new or remakes: including,

Tom Cruise, Will Smith and his family, Matthew mcConneghy (and anyone else in Interstellar), Sandra Bulloch, George Clooney, and any others that have ruined potentially good movies. Although I will give Jeff Goldblume credit for "Earth Girls are Easy".

At least some of the worse actors are long gone, like Charlton Heston, remember him in Soylent Green? Planet of the Apes, and that last man on Earth movie which was later remade with Will Smith in it (what was that called?, oh yeah, Omega Man).

Some movies mentioned below should just be left alone, as remakes are usually bad.

I am leery of rumours concerning Battlestar Gallactica returning. What next, Starship Trooper? Leave them alone.
I watched the very timely "12 Monkeys" this past week when it was shown on TV, and I have to say Bruce Willis was good in the lead role along with a very young Brad Pitt, and Willis has had a fair number of reasonable sci-fi type films in his career, Surrogates, Fifth Element (comedic scifi), etc

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by Astronovice

Anyone remember The Blob, a large red jelly creature with evil intent?

That movie launched Steve McQueen's Movie career I believe.

[lazjen (Chris)]

Originally Posted by glend

What next, Starship Trooper? Leave them alone.

If anything, please go back in time and erase that movie from existence. Classic example of a movie being completely wrong.

[DarkArts]

Originally Posted by lazjen

If anything, please go back in time and erase that movie from existence. Classic example of a movie being completely wrong.

I think I've read everything Robert Heinlein published - he's not easy to translate to screen. In the case of Starship Troopers, the satirical element of the book was mostly lost, even if some film critics try to 'rediscover' it after the fact (no doubt after having it pointed out to them). One Starship Troopers misinterpretation was plenty!

[xelasnave]

I watch very few movies but I have watched "War of the Worlds" because I was awarded the book for topping the year in the trial leaving certificate in combined science. I suppose I cant criticize Tom Cruise for acting as I really am not qualified but I have a dislike of him from the little things I have read and in particular the fact he is into Scientology..also the movie was difficult to watch as my Son is what you could call his double so it made watching the movie confusing and strange... unfortunately I lost the book in the bush fire that took everything we had and because it was a prize for being first in science at my school I treasured it somewhat even though it was fiction...why they gave a book of fiction was beyond me then and now as you would think that a good text book was appropriate..I certainly would have preferred a good text book. I lost all my text books in that fire.
Alex
Alex

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

Originally Posted by RB

That movie launched Steve McQueen's Movie career I believe.

I am not sure it did much for Kevin Dillon's career though.

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Originally Posted by Andy01

I'd like to see "the Andromeda Strain" remade, it's been about 50+ years and it's topical too!

The did remake Andromeda Strain as a miniseries in 2008.
I thought it was pretty good. It went beyond the original in scope.

The Climate Change version of the Day the Earth Stood Still may have been well made, but didn't have the gravity of the original.

From memory, the depiction of the Eloi in the original Time Machine wasn't that different from their depiction in the book. I enjoyed the remake more because of it's pace, but remember the original better.

In terms of a recent sort of remake, Snyder's cut of Justice League was vastly superior to the theatrical version of a few years earlier.
Regards,
Renato

[The_bluester (Paul)]

Originally Posted by DarkArts

I think I've read everything Robert Heinlein published - he's not easy to translate to screen. In the case of Starship Troopers, the satirical element of the book was mostly lost, even if some film critics try to 'rediscover' it after the fact (no doubt after having it pointed out to them). One Starship Troopers misinterpretation was plenty!

I dunno, the movie has given me a catchphrase that I hear in my head every time I see a clickbait headline and it helps me avoid opening them. Every time I see a "This one trick the power companies don't want you to know" my brain fills in "Want to know more" on the end of it. I have to admit to enjoying the movie in a comic book sort of way, but it might as well have been based on a different book, which I also enjoyed, but from a totally different perspective.

Some Sci-Fi stories they should just admit to being utterly loose re-imaginings, it was a very very long bow to turn a series of short stories about Asmiovs three laws into an action movie!

[glend (Glen)]

I would like to see a proper attempt at "Stranger in a Strange Land" but suspect the subject matter may be far to sensitive to ever get past the religious influence groups in the USA, if told as written. I believe there have been a couple of attempts to produce it, one as recently as 2016, but it is beyond a tv series. Not typically sci-fi, more socfi, it looks at morality from a different viewpoint.

I agree with Paul, on an amusing endearing element of Starship Trooper, "Want to know more?" And " Bug City" has stuck in my brain.