8 Remakes & Reboots That Are Worth A Damn

Over the last few years, I've been hearing a lot of bitching and complaining from people everywhere about how all Hollywood is doing these days is remaking or rebooting old franchises, and how these new versions are never as good as the originals. While I certainly won't argue with the fact that Hollywood does indeed have the remake/reboot engine running at full throttle, I do feel like I should point out that not all remakes or reboots are bad things. In fact, sometimes these new versions are pretty damned awesome.

To that end, I would like to present 8 films here that are either remakes or reboots of something else, and which are all bonafide bad ass. Whether or not these films are as good, greater or worse than those that came before them is, of course, up to personal opinion, but all of these films have rather high rankings on Rotten Tomatoes, and are generally loved by the overall movie-going audience.

The next time someone complains to you about how horrible remakes or reboots are, be sure to tell them about these films.

8. Fright Night

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 75%

This is a fairly recent one, so if you haven't seen it yet, that's ok. You really should give it a try though. I wasn't originally planning on going to see it myself, but I went with some friends and was really surprised at just how good this was. Colin Farrell is an absolute blast to watch as the Vampire-next-door Jerry. Throughout the film you can seriously feel just how much fun he's having playing the role. Dr. Who fans should also take note because David Tenant is hilarious as a Midori-loving Vegas magician named Peter Vincent. For something that is a remake of a beloved 80's film, this new version stands on it's own as a great time. It's at times both funny and genuinely frightening and stays consistently entertaining from beginning to end.

7. Airplane!

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 98%

Did you honestly think that Hollywood's obsession with remakes was a recent phenomenon? Hardly. Remakes have been taking place since the dawn of the filmmaking industry. It's so prevalent, in fact, that sometimes a film pops up that's a remake of a film that's so old, no one even recognizes it as a remake. Such is the case with the comedy classic Airplane. It's actually a remake of a classic black & white film called Zero Hour. And more than that, it's almost a shot-for-shot of that film too. Don't believe me? Just watch the above video comparing the two.

6. Casino Royale

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 94%

Casino Royale is actually a double whammy. It is both a remake and a reboot. It's a remake of the 1967 original and is also a reboot of the James Bond franchise after the uber-popular Pierce Brosnan stepped down from his role as 007 after having played him in four films. This film took us back to Bond's origins, before he was even a Double 0 agent. He may not have had his license to kill just yet, but this new bond was tough as nails and won over fans around the world. Don't get me wrong, I still love Connery the best, but Daniel Craig is fighting with Brosnan as my second favorite bond, that's for sure.

5. The Thomas Crown Affair

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 71%

Speaking of Pierce Brosnan, he starred in the remake of the 1968 film and it's one of the most stylish films I've ever seen. This is an art theft caper for the ages, filled with nothing but class from beginning to end. And let's not forget Rene Russo in some of the steamiest sex scenes ever put to celluloid. I could watch this film a hundred times and still be entertained by it.

4. Dawn of the Dead

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 74%

Remaking a George Romero zombie film is not an easy task. Romero is the man who basically invented the genre of the zombie film and introduced it to popular culture. He's the godfather of zombie stories, yet somehow Zack Snyder manages to take his original story of a bunch of survivors holed up in a mall and turns it into a movie worthy of the name Dawn of the Dead. This movies has everything you want in a zombie story, blood, gore, sex, massive devastation and even zombie babies. The intro to the film alone, set to the music of Johnny Cash, makes this one a horror masterpiece.

3. Batman Begins

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 90%

You'd think that making a good Batman film would be an easy task, right? I mean, come on, it's Batman! He's one of the most popular comic book characters of all time. How could you screw that up? Well, I've got two words for you. Joel Schumacher. That man put out two of the worst comic book films of all time and managed to sully the name of the caped crusader so badly that he killed the successful movie franchise begun by Tim Burton in 1989. For eight solid years, there was no Batman to be seen in the summer movie lineup after the unforgivable travesty that is 1997's Batman & Robin was released. But then in 2005 Warner Brothers took a gamble on an artsy filmmaker named Christopher Nolan and the rebooted the whole franchise to Bruce Wayne's early days, before he'd even thought of becoming the Dark Knight. The result was one of the best, most realistic comic book movies ever made. Yes, it was even enough to make us forget about such things as nipples on the Bat-suit, for a little while at least.

2. Star Trek

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 94%

Star Trek is a pop culture phenomenon of unrivaled proportions. As a franchise, it recently celebrated it's 45th anniversary. During that time, it has spawned five live-action TV series, one animated TV series and more movies than you can shake a Tribble at. However, by the year 2005 the franchise was in decline. Overexposure and a few bad shows and films had made fans bored with the United Federation of Planet. The last of the running Star Trek shows was cancelled and further movies starring the Next Generation cast were cancelled due to low box office performance. It was a dark time for Trekkies everywhere. Then in 2009, a brand new Trek film was released in theaters. Paramount hired the nerd-favorite director JJ Abrams to helm it and tasked him with breathing new life into what was seen by many as an old and tired franchise. Breathe life into it he certainly did. 2009's Star Trek is an action packed, edge of your seat adventure that thrills with visual spectacle, but at which no point forgets that Star Trek is about the characters and their relationships to one another. This, to me, is the film by which all other franchise reboots should be compared to. It's the finest example of a reboot I've ever seen.

1. The Thing

Rotten Tomatoes Score = 80%

The Thing was originally a 1951 film titled The Thing From Another World. As with most 50's monster movie horror films, it's a bit heavy on the cheese factor. Is it fun? Sure. Is it scary? Not at all. Then comes along a guy named John Carpenter in 1982 who decides to remake this fun 50's B-film. The result is one of the greatest horror films of all time. I have never before and never since found another film that so masterfully displays the feelings of isolation that its characters are going through. One by one the unknown monster kills its victims and assumes their form, leaving the survivors to wonder which of their friends is actually their enemy in disguise. Everything about this film is brilliant. From the casting to the costumes to the sets to the bloody special effects, it's quite simply a perfect film.