Why is Hollywood pushing out so many remakes and reboots lately? Is it their thirst for profits? Is it that, much like the companies listed at onlinecasinos-canada.ca, they too try to squeeze the most dough out of a tried and tested formula? Or are the more critical voices right, and Hollywood has lost the last bit of its creativity, and it’s simply incapable of more? Whichever the case, the fact remains: last year was filled with remakes and reboots, and this year will bring forth more of the same. Let’s take a look at the most notable of them all to hit the theaters in 2017.
Ghost in the Shell
The live action remake of Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 anime classic – a work of art that has inspired countless works of modern cinema, including the Wachowskis’ dystopian sci-fi classic “The Matrix” has had some big shoes to fill. Unfortunately, its ratings fall behind the animated original’s (with a Metascore of 53 and 43% on the Tomatometer as opposed to 76 / 96% of the anime).
The flick featuring the cyborg cop Major played by the (definitely not Japanese but a lot like the original character from the anime) Scarlett Johansson, with sometimes Matrix-esque visuals, has managed to gross $59 million in its opening weekend – it has proven to be better than the original at least from this one point of view.
Jumanji
The playful fantasy thriller featuring a bearded, half-mad Robin Williams was a fun and crazy ride. According to the critics, the movie was pretty mediocre – this didn’t stop the audiences from loving it. Hopefully, the reboot to be released this year will live up to the reputation of the original.
This year’s reboot will turn the tables: instead of the kids accidentally releasing the inhabitants of the magical universe trapped inside the mysterious board game, four teenage kids get sucked into its crazy world. Since they couldn’t survive the perils of the jungle as teenagers, they transform into their game versions: a muscular jock, a tiny genius, a bookworm, and an amazon. As usual, they will have to beat the game to return home in one piece.
The Jumanji reboot is set to be released this December.
The Mummy
“The Mummy” is one of the best-known monsters of the Universal universe (although it sounds like a pun, be sure it isn’t – see below). The magically re-animated Egyptian corpse has first made his way on the silver screen in 1932. Since then, it has returned half a dozen times, both in a horror and a comical / adventure setting. This year’s reboot will be a return to the character’s horror roots, but it will be important for another reason: it will serve as an introductory piece for a Universal Monsters shared universe.