“Remakes should be made of movies that aren’t very good, that gives you the chance to fix whatever has gone wrong.”
That’s Let the Right One In director Tomas Alfredson sharing his philosophy on remakes. It’s a philosophy I share, especially after a week where I’ve already written about five other remakes. Which brings us to The Rocketeer, as Vulture reports Joe Johnston’s 1991 comic adaptation is now on tap to be remade at Disney.
Disney had a huge hit with Avengers, but their name wasn’t out in front of that film. And after John Carter‘s failure and ousting of studio head Rich Ross, they’re banking on something familiar to get them back on track. A rejuvenated Rocketeer could be certainly that. The original, even with all its imperfections, was a wholesome and fun adventure flick with a dose of Nazi-Timothy Dalton for good measure.
Personally, I’d like to see Disney raid the fridge and remake some of their shittier fare. Condorman and The Black Hole are two abortions that can only be improved upon. Rocketeer, a film made all the better with some wonderful turns by Billy Campbell, Alan Arkin and Jennifer Connelly, sets the bar pretty high.
Then again, it has been twenty years. That’s practically a century in Hollywood Remake Time.
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