It is a well-known fact that the original Ghostbusters was a true blockbuster at its time of release. Its success led to a sequel in 1989 that didn't perform quite as well in the box office but still made a decent effort. Like many movies of its decade, Ghostbusters 1 and 2 mixed silly humor, foolhardy protagonists, and over-dramatic action with some below average directing. This 1980s classic will not go down in history as the golden standard of cinema no matter how funny and charming Bill Murray is in front of a camera. Why then are boomers and millennials so upset about remakes if the original wasn't a piece of modern art to begin with?
One would think the 2016 remake had nothing to lose given its predecessor was not much more than a hilarious twist on the horror genre. Four grown men chasing after ghosts through the streets of New York with faux science gear is the premise of the originals. But the internet, that vague expression by which people and the media really mean to say trolls on social media, lashed out on a silly remake of an even more silly film. The 2016 Ghostbusters with an all-female cast was heavily, heavily criticized before it had even released in movie theaters. The film was set up to fail in the box office. The internet, also known as the internet trolls, singlehandedly sniped down a project before viewers could even judge for themselves if the film really was all that bad. Death in Utero. The film had a fantastic cast of comedy actresses such as Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and SNL's own Kate McKinnon. The first thought that comes to mind as to why the film flopped so badly is misogyny. But for a film to flop like it did there had to be more to it than that, not saying that misogynist internet trolls aren't partly to blame.
Nostalgia, the inexplicable feeling that fuels grown men and women to look back at bygone years with a smile even when those years might have been hard and bitter. There is something magical about childhood that no matter how many hardships one may have endured makes us as adults dream of years without responsibilities. Ghostbusters, Teenage Ninja Turtles, Tim Burton's Batman, Beetlejuice, Indiana Jones, Labyrinth (R.I.P. David Bowie), The Goonies, The Lost Boys, Willow, Conan, and many, many more will forever live in our collective memory, at least for us millennials it will. These films take us back to long summers eating watermelon at the beach during the day and watching The Land Before Time at night. Nothing will ever even come close to those glory days.
Hollywood has for some time now tried to milk the Nostalgia cow, with mixed results. It has worked incredibly well for Disney with their billions of Dollars in revenue each time they've released anything related to the Star Wars franchise. The Harry Potter series, a franchise that I gave up on a long time ago, has done a remarkable job at staying relevant, more than 20 years after the release of the original fantasy novels. But there are many films that should have best been left immaculate in the past. Michael Bay's 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles even though tripled in revenue its production cost, speak of ROI, had a disastrous reception among fans. No need for an all-female cast there, the film just didn't speak to the fans as the film strayed far away from the comic book's spirit. The long list of remakes that truly failed at everything from generating revenue for its production company to satisfying viewers is a long list that includes but is not limited to:
Ghostbusters (2016) Read above
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) Michael Bay completely ignored the essence of the original TMNT and made a mutant out of a mutant, i.e., a monstrosity.
Robocop (2014) Bad, just bad. The original is unwatchable to today's standards and the remake is just silly.
Taxi (2004) This one hurt, especially because the original French trilogy of Taxi was hilarious.
Flatliners (2017) Kiefer Sutherland's edgy and angsty performance in the OG film makes this version just very... flat. Pardon the pun.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) any horror genre fans can tell me how many of these there are?
Bewitched (2005) Un-watchable. Great actors. Bad Movie.
Charlie's Angels (2019) The original two films were "Chef's Kiss" of late 90s early 2000s comedy
The Magnificent Seven (2016) A remake of a remake since the original from 1960 is a stolen idea from legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa Seven Samurai 1954.
Comentarios