While many movie remakes are simply a result of Hollywood looking to cash in on a big, recognizable property, there are those remakes that are more surprising. Flatliners is a prime example. The original 1990 movie was a hit in its day, and starred then-super-hot Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland, but it's hardly a movie with a dedicated fanbase demanding (or dreading) a new version. But it does have a great premise, and the remake hits theaters this weekend, so clearly someone thought it was a good idea. But what are some other movies from that era that could do with a 2017 make-over? Let's take a look...
The Running Man
There are many Stephen King adaptations currently in production, but if there's one older King movie crying out for a remake, it's The Running Man. The original Schwarzenegger vehicle has a certain cheesy charm, but a more faithful adaptation would be something else. A dark, exciting, dystopian thriller about crime, punishment, and entertainment that feels more relevant now than ever. Also, King's novel is set in 2025. Hollywood, you've got eight years!
Police Academy
It's frankly amazing that no one has remade Police Academy yet. It fulfills all the criteria for a reboot--it's a simple formula that could be taken in a number of directions, a hugely popular series with a recognizable brand name, and one that even the most ardent fan of '80s comedies would agree could be improved upon. In the wake of female-led reboots of Ghostbusters and Ocean's Eleven, an all-women Police Academy seems ripe for production. Unlike Ghostbusters, no one is going to cry about this particular property getting a gender-switched reboot. Jettison the crude, dated humor of the original films, cast Scarlett Johansson and Melissa McCarthy as trainee cops, Helen Mirren as their beleaguered trainer, and watch the box office bucks roll in.
The Last Starfighter
1984's The Last Starfighter was one of the first movies to make heavy use of CGI, with its various spaceships and interstellar battles rendered digitally rather than through model work. With the increasing popularity of VR and Spielberg's adaptation of Ready Player One due early next year, the time is right for an updated version of this tale of an arcade game-loving teen who gets pulled into an intergalactic war. Tom Holland would be perfect for this mix of charming teenage drama and intergalactic action.
Krull
Krull was an attempt to weld a Star Wars-style sci-fi adventure onto a lavish Conan-esque fantasy movie, with distinctly mixed results. It had a long and difficult shoot, ran way over budget, and bombed on release. Nevertheless, Krull has picked up a cult status over the years, the nonsensical time-travelling plot compensated by the impressive visual style, striking set design, and cool weapons. So a remake makes perfect sense; it's essentially Game of Thrones with laser guns. Someone get HBO on the phone!
Enemy Mine
Enemy Mine was another expensive, commercial flop with a troubled production that has since become a cult favorite. It's a quirky sci-fi two-hander in which Dennis Quaid and an alien played by Louis Gossett Jr overcome their differences to survive on a remote, hostile planet. Both are great roles for actors, and the concept of enemies forced to work together to survive could not be more topical. Brad Pitt as the human, a mo-cap Andy Serkis as the alien, Planet of the Apes' Matt Reeves directing... it's a hit!
The Secret of My Success
Michael J Fox's big '80s movie was, of course, Back to the Future, and let's hope that Hollywood never decides to remake that (they will, of course). But there are a couple of other films that Fox starred in that could do with a modern refresh. The Secret of My Success was a breezy 1987 comedy in which a young man scams his way to the top of the company ladder. Back then, being a rich and powerful New York tycoon was seen as the ultimate goal, but in the era of President Trump, a more scabrous, darkly funny look at corporate entitlement and the deceit required to get ahead in business could work even better.
Bright Lights Big City
The other Michael J. Fox movie that might success as a remake is this 1988 drama. It's the darker flipside to The Secret of My Success, and Fox's performance as a hard-partying, coked-up magazine fact-checker shows that Fox had some underused dramatic chops. But compared to more recent movies such as Shame, it now feels quite tame, and prime material for a up-and-coming young star like Jack O'Connell or Ezra Miller to sink their teeth into.
Nighthawks
Michael J. Fox's decision to star in something a little grittier was hardly unusual--over the years, many huge stars have wanted to prove that they are serious actors as well as showbiz celebrities. Nighthawks was Sylvester Stallone's first attempt. Made at the height of Rocky-mania, Stallone grew a beard (always a sign of an actor taking his craft seriously) and starred as a cop trying to stop terrorist Rutgers Hauer in a smart, gritty New York thriller. The themes of urban terrorism are sadly relevant today, but aside from that, it's a cracking movie that is sadly underseen. A new version could change that; even if the remake was bad, it might drive some interest in the original movie.
WarGames
WarGames is another nostalgic favorite that suddenly feels frighteningly topical. Made at the height of the Cold War, when nuclear tensions were running high, it gave Matthew Broderick his first lead role as a teen hacker who almost causes World War III, and delivered some seriously tense edge-of-your-seat thrills. It wouldn't take much tinkering to change the threat from the Soviet Union to North Korea, and give the movie a flashy, high-tech Social Network-style makeover.
House
From The Evil Dead and Friday to 13th to Nightmare on Elm Street, many of the key '80s horror movies have already been remade. But this 1986 horror comedy is one film that, in the right hands (we're thinking The Conjuring's James Wan), could work well. A mix of creepy house scares, offbeat comedy, heartfelt drama, and cool interdimensional monsters, the original hasn't aged as well as some, but everything is in place for a wildly entertaining hit horror movie of the sort that Get Out and Insidious producers Blumhouse Films churn out several times a year.
The Black Cauldron
It's hard to remember this, but there was a time in the 1980s when Disney was struggling to make successful animated movies. With interest dropping in classic animated fairy tales, the studio turned to more adult sources for its films, such as Lloyd Alexander's fantasy saga, The Chronicles of Prydain. The resulting movie, 1985's The Black Cauldron, was too weird and scary for many kids (and this was after Disney cut 12 minutes of even darker material), and is now little remembered. But in an era of Game of Thrones, Tolkien, and Potter, this is a prime candidate for a new movie--rich, vibrant material with appeal to both adults and older children. In 2012, Disney reacquired the film rights to Alexander's books, so who knows? It might yet happen.
The Lost Boys
Before he made Flatliners, director Joel Schumacher made this classic vampire comedy, and of all the titles on this list, a Lost Boys remake is the one that will almost certainly happen. A TV version has reportedly been in the works at the CW for a while, but as many small-screen reboots never get beyond the pilot stage, there's no guarantee that we will ever see it. But in the wake of teen vampire hits True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, it's a title that's primed for a reboot.
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