Following the trailer release of Stephen King’s remake of It a light has been shed on movies that deserve second, or even third chances. It so far looks amazing, and here a few other movies that also deserve that chance to be amazing.
‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’3>
This brilliant British radio series-turned-book series has been adapted for the screen twice. First in 1981 with a 6-part mini-series, and then in a 2005 movie, starring Martin Freeman, Zooey Deschanel and Yasiin Bey. Although both adaptations have their pluses and minuses, it probably can be agreed this story deserves a remake. The 6-part mini series was very true to the original dialogue from the radio series, but the special effects were less than ideal. The 2005 Hitchhiker’s Guide movie showed the improved CGI compared to the ‘80s, but severely lacked in adapting the witty and weird dialogue and scenes.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is not an easy project to take on. With such unique humor and the constraint of a movie run time, it simply can’t be just thrown out there and hope that’s enough. This is why an updated mini-series would be the ideal situation. There would be enough time given for the world of Hitchhiker’s Guide to be set up and allow for the fluidity the books posses, where sometimes nearly nothing explosive happens but still make you double over laughing (such as Arthur shutting down an entire interface when requesting a proper cup of English tea).
‘Harry Potter’
It’s hard not to know what Harry Potter is and what it gave to the generations who grew up with the magical books and films. And although the original films likely won’t be forgotten, a new adaptation will be greeted with curious eyes.
The Harry Potter films are nostalgic for many of those who grew up with them, but it isn’t an uncommon opinion to think they could have been better. Because of constraints of time, the fact that they were being made right along side the books, and the multiple change of directors, made the films less fluid as it could have been. Harry Potter is another remake that would benefit from a mini-series that enables the story to slow down a bit. It would be highly interesting to see the series from another perspective, with new actors, and with an almost reflection of how wonderful the series is.
‘The Giver’
The Giver is an iconic book. The movie? Well, not so much. A huge issue with the movie adaptation is the failed attempt to make the story another teen/romance/dystopian action film that we get from the Hunger Games and the Divergent series. The Giver deserves to be a much better adaptation, and truer to the original material than what we got in the 2014 movie. It is a quieter dystopian, with no futuristic fighter jets or missiles. Perhaps a more accurate adaptation will not be a big money maker for the studios, but this book was never written to be a big money maker to begin with.
A remake of this iconic story of a communist dystopian will not only give respect to the original book by Lois Lowry, but also give respect to teenagers who shouldn’t only be given the same movie tropes time and time again.
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’
The Last Airbender was famously one of the biggest disappointments of 2010. Adapted from the hugely popular and critically acclaimed Nickelodeon show, The Last Airbender failed with a terrible script and terrible casting. This movie is an unfortunate example of how producers can wreck a movie by trying to make the most money at all costs.
A remake could do wonders because a good story does exist within. Bureaucracy trampled the script and caused unsurprising backlash by casting non-Asian actors for its Asian characters. Its prime focus of getting money for a 3D release should not be the focus in the remake, but instead a second chance of bringing well deserving Asian actors and characters to the big screen.