Movie remakes suck right?

old.Tohtori

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Are you one of those people? One who thinks classics should be classics and that they're ruining them? No questions asked remakes shouldn't happen!

Then, two words; black mesa.

Explain contradiction please.
 

old.Tohtori

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Entertainment none the less. Games especially are the rising movie industry(if not past), so you pressing a button shouldn't be the defining feature in judging remakes.
 

dysfunction

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There are quite a few remakes that are pretty good.

Some I've thought were an original film but turned out they were made before I was born or before I watched films. Example: "gone in 60 seconds" made in 1974. I've never seen this version of the film so the remake to me is original!

I think it all depends how well it's done and how much you adore the original.
 

Wazzerphuk

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I think the fact that I played Black Mesa for a couple of hours on the day I got it and haven't returned to it since says a lot to be honest.
 

Raven

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Black Mesa is more a digitally remastered directors cut.

Remakes of movies usually miss the point of the original movie in just about every way. There are one or two exceptions ofc but the general rule is that they are pointless.
 

ECA

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Not a movie.

Created by fans for free, not by a corporation whoring focus groups for profit.
 

caLLous

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Black Mesa isn't a movie. Black Mesa isn't a remake.

It's like a bunch of fans of a movie getting together and spending years reimagining said movie scene by scene with a very small budget. I have no idea what the budget was on BM but it would've been nowhere near that of the original Half Life, let alone its sequels. I didn't think Black Mesa was all that anyway.

Of the top of my head the only movie remake that I thought improved massively on the original was Heat (L.A. Takedown).
 

Wazzerphuk

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I'll probably resume playing when I get a little more time, currently very busy - haven't even taken the new lens out (although weather and light has been abysmal as well).
 

itcheh

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More often or not the remake is weaker ... but then again there are always exceptions: John Carpenter's The Thing
 

Cerb

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My argument against remake isn't because remakes are by definition terrible. Although I think most people could be forgive for making that argument.

My problem with remakes is that they kill and have been killing originality and innovation in film making for a while now. Sure remakes have been around for a long time, but Hollywood has really jumped on their back lately.

Why would a studio risk 100 million, hell even 30 million on an unknown quantity when the exec pitching them movies says "well we have this new idea for a movie x...which we think will make a profit. Or we have this idea for a Gone with the Wind remake....and look how much money that made! We can't lose!"
 

old.Tohtori

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So if i'm reading this correctly; remakes aren't a bad thing, bad remakes are a bad thing? Black mesa could be compared to lucas rewanking his material, where only money comes an issue, not the rewank itself ;)
 

caLLous

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Remaking for the sake of remaking is a bad thing. Remaking because a studio thinks it will be a cash-cow is a bad thing. Remaking because of technological improvements or refinements is a bad thing, but perhaps more forgivable than the other motives.

As a general rule, remaking is a bad thing. The example of Heat and L.A. Takedown is slightly different because Mann wanted to make Heat all along but couldn't get studio backing for it so he watered it down (for want of a better expression) and out of this process came L.A. Takedown. Then he made Heat 6 years later and it blew Takedown out of the water.
 

megadave

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Modern Hollywood remakes are always shit. They just pick a popular cult classic, remake it with some special effects for the trailer then spend loads on advertising and voila, cash cow.
 

megadave

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Modern Hollywood remakes are always shit. They just pick a popular cult classic, remake it with some special effects for the trailer then spend loads on advertising and voila, cash cow.
 

Zarjazz

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Agreed. I have no idea why it gets praised so much. The so called amazing gun scene was tedious and about as exciting as a dead fish.
 

ECA

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Mostly because de niro and pacino were both leading men around that time and they are amazing actors, they just suck absolute balls when paired together. See righteous kill for proof.
 

Cerb

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I liked Heat....but the last time I saw it was about 10 years ago when I was about 14 so my perception might be a little skewed.

You know I didn't know that John Carpenters "Thing" was a remake? That's actually my favorite horror movie ever.

Just looking at a list of remakes now and there are quite a few brilliant ones on there...Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid for example. Seems like a really good one hasn't been done in a while though.
 

Cerb

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Oh and the departed was bloody brilliant.

I really need to get around to watching Infernal Affairs.
 

DaGaffer

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Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a remake? Are you sure? I thought it was an original William Goldman (Princess Bride, Marathon Man etc.) screenplay?
 

Cerb

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No I can't say I'm sure. I was looking through this list of remakes (looking to see if there were any good ones) and it has it on there. I didn't really look into it further.
 

DaGaffer

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No I can't say I'm sure. I was looking through this list of remakes (looking to see if there were any good ones) and it has it on there. I didn't really look into it further.

Pretty sure that's a mistake then. Looking at the list I'd say Casino Royale is a bit of a stretch as well; the name is the same but the two films are even less connected than the Italian Job and its namesake.
 

Wazzerphuk

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Oh and the departed was bloody brilliant.

I really need to get around to watching Infernal Affairs.

Infernal Affairs is so good. Can't really bring myself to watch The Departed. A film that genuinely didn't need to be remade at all.
 

Zarjazz

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Infernal Affairs is so good. Can't really bring myself to watch The Departed. A film that genuinely didn't need to be remade at all.

It's very inferior to the original, one of Scorseses' least remarkable films yet it won him his Oscar. Go figure.
 

DaGaffer

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It's very inferior to the original, one of Scorseses' least remarkable films yet it won him his Oscar. Go figure.

Actually, if you'd watched The Departed before Infernal Affairs (as I did), you'd probably have a much higher opinion of it. Excellent soundtrack as well.
 

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