The Online Reflector

There’s a cancer in Hollywood, and it’s spreading. Remakes.

The blatant money-mongering exhibited by major movie studios that forego creativity to simply remake classics is a sure way to anger some fans of authentic cinema.

The forthcoming remake of “True Grit” by the Coen Brothers prompted this piece. While there is no doubt that Jeff Bridges is capable of playing the infamous scoundrel Rooster Cogburn, one must ask, “Why?” Why do the Coen Brothers feel the need to “re-imagine” the 1969 classic Western film featuring John Wayne, arguably the greatest man to ever saddle up a horse and put on a Stetson?

The new trailer runs parallel to that 40-year-old one, featuring nearly identical scenes and dialogue in many segments. Sure, the faces are different and the image quality is better, but if ominous music were added to the 1969 trailer, the two would essentially be the same. Calling it a “gritty reboot” does not negate the fact that the filmmakers have the conceptual work already done for them.

This urge to redo an older film is pure laziness. Hollywood has simply run out of original thoughts and digs through vaults and Blockbuster racks to find a film to reshoot in a newer setting. These “original” spins on old stories supposedly add substance and timeliness. Instead, they look like what they truly are–awkward rehashings of better-made films.

Take 2004’s “Alfie,” for instance. It stars Jude Law as a hopeless womanizer who experiences the consequences of his promiscuous ways. He eventually learns the value of fidelity and starts to settle down. But even Law’s charming accent and bedroom eyes don’t come close to replacing the original 1968 version featuring Michael Caine. The progressive views of the free love movement and their repercussions are still gut-wrenching today, and Caine’s performance is spot-on and heartbreaking. The remake pales in comparison to the lonely undertones of the original.

The Coen brothers and Jude Law are not the only guilty parties. Remakes are no rarity in the theatres these days. “Clash of the Titans,” “I Am Legend,” “The Karate Kid,” “War of the Worlds,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Planet of the Apes” are all remakes that have been released since 2001. “Clash of the Titans” was panned by critics and viewers alike and grossed $163 million, the poorest performing remake mentioned.

Even James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar,” which grossed over $750 million, is a thinly veiled remake of the 1990’s “Dances with Wolves.” Both films feature a military man who slowly assimilates into an alien culture and falls in love with one of the natives. If you put a blue film over the screen for the older movie, it would look eerily similar to Cameron’s epic, while still managing to be better acted, directed and less preachy.

The whole issue of remakes comes down to laziness and arrogance. Hollywood is either unable or unwilling to produce original ideas and instead resorts to hasty repackaging of old films.

It wouldn’t be such an issue if Hollywood were to rework terrible films into something passable as decent cinema. “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” “Manos: The Hands of Fate” and similar B horror films are screaming for fresh takes. The best part is that the films can’t end up any worse than they already are. The scripts have got to be cheap and available.

Hollywood simply needs to stop using new cameras and cheesy computergenerated imagery as a crutch. Produce a decent script and get actors with actual range. Don’t hastily take someone else’s work and drop new actors and technology into it. The rare films that express initiative and innovation by the filmmaker are easy to spot and incredibly refreshing.

At the rate things are going, Hollywood executives may soon have the audacity to remake “Casablanca” or reboot the “Godfather” trilogy, featuring Colin Farrell. Demand better quality of Hollywood, and they will deliver. Don’t buy into the condescending cookie-cutter films forced onto us week after week.