The Ace of Spades crowd is bitching about a remake of Predator allegedly being done by Robert Rodriguez. Now, I don't think Predator is that good a movie, myself. It gets by (heavily) on Arnold's charisma, and let's face it, Schwarzenegger ain't no Erol Flynn. (I'm even an Arnold fan; I saw all those mediocre action flicks he made in the '80s in the theaters, except for Raw Deal.) The best movies--The Terminator series--he was in were ones which didn't require a lot of acting on his part.
We're not talking Citizen Kane or The Godfather or even Aliens or Terminator. Predator (coneptually) was done in 1980 in a movie starring Jack Palance, Cameron Mitchell and Martin Landau called Without Warning. (Larry Storch and David Caruso have a small part in it, too!) But the meat of the premise is, of course, a simple variant on Most Dangerous Game, and that movie wasn't all that original in 1932.
But this leads into bitching about remakes, which I think is unwarranted. Hollywood doesn't really do many remakes anymore like, say, Gaslight, which was done seven times between 1939 and 1947. Gaslight's being remade again by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement), but it probably won't be a strict remake. We don't have all that much in common with people 60 years ago.
We do get many versions of classics, Shakespeare and Jane Austen (though not last year) and that sort of thing, but I don't think that counts. Now, about half of the top 20 grossers last year were existing franchises, but I think that's because, well, half of the top 20 grossers the previous year were existing franchises.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Predator's one of my favorite "so bad it's good" movies. It's a shame, because it could have been actually good... instead it's just full of silly lines and cliches. But I genuinely enjoy watching it, I can't deny. I mean, come on, it's the one where Arnold says "STICK AROUND" and they play new-agey pan flute whenever the Native American soldier starts to wax poetic about the alien.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I know all of this is beside the point. I guess Hollywood's propensity to remake everything does annoy me a little; but, hey, make it good, like Dawn of the Dead, and no complaints here.
Actually, I don't think it is beside the point. The '80s were a time when the action film was successful, but there's almost an undercurrent of embarrassment about it.
ReplyDeleteThe huge dissociation of Hollywood "artists" in that dreaded 66-74 period, followed by Spielberg and Lucas demonstrating that cinema didn't have to die, is probably responsible.
It's not like all those people working on "art" films suddenly thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to make movies people want to watch?" They just thought, "Oh, the rubes will like this."
A guy like Stallone was sincere, I think, but he was hugely mocked. There was the wall between "serious" art and everything else.
That wall was always there--Burt Lancaster and Johnny Depp proved they could jump on either side of it--but "Rambo" was a derogatory term in the '80s.
But there's a whole thesis in the mindset of Hollywood there.
I agree: Make it good and it won't matter.
Poor Sly. I think of him like Burt Reynolds: really good actor, bad choices.
ReplyDeleteYeah, he never took the challenging roles that would allow him to break out of the meathead roles. Most people seemed to think he wasn't acting when he was doing Rocky.
ReplyDeleteI really liked Predator as well. And I love Arnold's silly lines in almost all of his movies.
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested in the remake, I guess, but I thought the creature was cool and the good guy was tough. Hard to top.
Oops...reading knox again, and I don't think she's saying she liked it. LOL. Well, I did.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was creepy, scary, suspenseful, silly and entertaining. Good enough for me, but you guys are the film connoisseurs. :)
Darcy, I love Predator. In fact, it includes one of my favorite physical moments on film: When they're about to have a go at each other and the Predator holds both arms out to his sides and puffs out his chest as if to say, "Come and get some!" So natural. Love it.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so glad, Freeman. Whew. :)
ReplyDeleteWe'll stand together and defend Predator's honor. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Freeman. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd the Predator was a good guy in AVP. Not that I'm admitting to seeing that. ;-)
Oh, I like Predator--it's very watchable--but that doesn't mean it's a great movie. I went to see Commando and Running Man and Total Recall 'cause I knew they'd be fun.
ReplyDeleteWe're not talking about remaking Citizen Kane, here. There's lots of room for improvement.
LOL, Blake. True. (I still think they'll have a hard time topping it! Hee.)
ReplyDeleteOh, I like it, don't get me wrong. It's up there with "Lone Wolf McQuade," "Lethal Weapon" and my latest all-time favorite, "Sudden Impact," for awesome cheesy movies.
ReplyDeleteSudden Impact? The (one, two, three) fourth Dirty Harry movie?
ReplyDeleteI love Lone Wolf McQuade with Chuck Norris duking it out with David Carridine. And the hot, hot, hot Barbara Carreara.
ReplyDeleteIf you want another great low brow flic that you are gonna love rent "Q" with Shaft,Michael Moriaty and a bunch of other cheezy stars. It's the top.
Of course I also love the great "Town without Pity." That's cheezetastic.
ReplyDeleteAnd blake is tired of me pimping Johnny Guitar but that is as good as it gets. Joan Crawford in a white ball gown playing the piano in a saloon in the middle of nowhere about to be lynched by a posse lead by a crazed lesbian who is in love with her. Man that's entertainment.
ReplyDeleteNah, Troop: You can't pimp Johnny Guitar too much. One of the most under-rated westerns ever, IMO.
ReplyDeleteI saw Q in the theater, by the way.
I mentioned Q writer-direct Larry Cohen in my torture porn post.
Sudden Impact? The (one, two, three) fourth Dirty Harry movie?
ReplyDeleteYup, that's the one. I think I've mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: a dog farts in the movie. nuff said.
Knox has interesting criteria for favorites.
ReplyDeleteThat's probably my least favorite as it's a Death Wish clone. Plus, the ending is not in Harry's character.
Knox has interesting criteria for favorites.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Not surprised if it seems that way. I rarely have time to write coherent comments anymore.
I should have clarified: Sudden Impact is in the so-bad-it's-good/cheesey category. I would never call it my favorite Dirty Harry movie. The first installment has no peer.
"anymore" = the last 3 years. Maybe I should stop trying...
ReplyDeleteI think that Predator is actually an excellent movie. I wouldn't categorize it with others like Commando, which is fun and ridiculous, but not an excellent film.
ReplyDeleteSo, in the remake, is Rose McGowan going to be the Predator?
Rodriguez took a huge fall in my respect-o-meter over that whole thing.
You're the second person to mention something about Rodriguez and McGowan.
ReplyDeleteI take it there's some shenanigans going on or somesuch?
Well, yeah. He divorced his producer wife of 16 years, with whom he has five children, after having an affair with McGowan.
ReplyDeleteMcGowan had not ever registered on my respect-o-meter, so there was no fall for her to take.
Oh.
ReplyDeleteThat's unfortunate.