Hollywood has gotten out of control with remakes/reboots/sequels. 90% of them are unnecessary. When it comes to remakes, there are really only TWO legitimate reasons to remake a movie:
1) The source material is very good and beloved, but the first adaptation of that material was terrible (e.g., I would not oppose a remake of Bonfire of the Vanities since the 1990 movie sucked and was horribly miscast)
2) The first adaptation of that movie was well received and popular at the time of its release, but has not aged well and is now completely gone from popular culture and doesn’t relate to modern audiences (e.g., I would not oppose a remake of Charlie Chan, if they cast an actual Asian actor and did a serious adaptation of the books)
One notable example of the kind of remake I can get behind is the upcoming remake of Dr. Dolittle starring Robert Downey Jr. (see the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEf412bSPLs)
I’m hoping to take my 4 year old nephew to see it in 2020. Supposedly it will be an rousing, epic adventure film/family film that is actually faithful to the Hugh Lofting books. The previous film adaptations (Rex Harrison in 1967 and Eddie Murphy in 1998) strayed VERY far from the books and were basically Dr. Dolittle In Name Only— ESPECIALLY the Eddie Murphy version!)
Examples of recent films that SHOULDN’T have been remade are a dime a dozen: Ghostbusters, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, The Lion King, Aladdin, Godzilla, The Mummy, Robocop, Tomb Raider, Robin Hood, A Star Is Born, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Hellboy, The Addams Family, Child’s Play, Jacob’s Ladder, Charlie’s Angels... take your pick!
I actually liked “Bonfire of the Vanities.” I’m amazed it got made at the time, tackling the racist, shake-down artists of the Je$$e Jack$on and Al $harpton ilk. Back when NYC was averaging over 2,000 murders a year.
RE “The Mummy”
I saw the version with Tom Cruise; after watching it a second time, I came to see it as not so much a “remake” as a different story.
Same idea, yes, but it was different - like the old Boris Karloff Vs Christopher Lee versions.
RE Godzilla:
Loved the 1998 version; funny as hell, the special effects were great (my sonny boy lost his mind when he saw it - EVERYTHING was “Godzilla!!!” for Christmas that year...
The newer ones aren’t bad, they’re just too serious.
Robin Hood:
Errol Flynn, “Welcome to Sherwood”...Olivia DeHavilland... Basil Rathbone... Calude Rains... ‘Nuff said. The green tights, though... they needed to go. Hard to remake perfection...