Charles Caleb Colton once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” So, I assume that when a movie is remade, it means that its sole purpose is to show how great it is? Um… Insert awkward cough here.
     Perhaps! Maybe another director thought that he/she could take on the challenge of remaking a movie to make it better in ways it originally lacked, or to modify the movie to show his/her different aspects on things. There could be a lot of different reasons as to why a director would remake a movie, but the real question is: should they? I mean, the best version of something will always be the original, in my opinion; but there are some exceptions.
     Take Clash of the Titans for example. It was a remake from the original in 1981, directed by Desmond Davis. When I saw the 2010 version in the theatre, I was amazed. It was a really good film and the graphics were awesome, hands down. I give big props to director Louis Leterrier. You see, there’s a good thirty year gap between the two films. Times have changed, along with our technology; we’re more advanced and realistic with graphics. Taking into consideration that time gap, I think it’s acceptable for movies to get remade but I don’t think I can say that for all movies…
     Everyone knows the epic comedy movie Mean Girls directed by Mark Waters! If you’ve never watched this movie, you should slap yourself for missing out on it. Mark Waters directed this epic comedic film. On January, Mean Girls 2, will be premiering on the ABC channel. Although the title gives off a vibe of being a sequel, it definitely is a remake. When I first heard that someone was going to remake Mean Girls, I was shocked; when I saw the trailer, I don’t ever recall being disgusted by a trailer before.
     There are some movies that can be exceptionally remade, but then there are some you just shouldn’t even bother with! Mean Girls came out about seven years ago. Personally, I don’t think that’s a long enough time to remake a movie, especially a movie as successful as Mean Girls.
     Then there’s Alice in Wonderland, with three movies; one cartoon version, and two remakes. The first remake was released in 1999, directed by Nick Willing. In 2010, Tim Burton released his version of Alice in Wonderland. Despite the fact that the two are completely different, I liked them both. I’m still more fond the original because I grew up with that movie, but Tim Burton is simply a directing genius. He made it his own unique version.
     Ah, and how could I forget Mr. Miyagi?! Have you? You know this one! The Karate Kid! The original was released in 1984 and was directed by John Avildsen. The 2010 remake was directed by Harald Zwart. Again, these two are different but I’m fond of the original version because I grew up with that movie as well, but Zwart did a really good job. All in all, I think remaking a movie is like a fashion dare. People are either going to hate it, or love it.