Holy 1980s Remakes, Batman! MGM Goes Wild!

MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) announced this past December that it had risen from the bankruptcy ashes and, after some other internal restructuring, the studio is moving forward with James Bond 23 and James Bond 24, as well as the long-awaited, long-planned, two-part return to Middle Earth, The Hobbit. Both franchises hit theaters in November of 2012. Sam Mendes (Away We Go) is directing the next Bond film, whereas Peter Jackson (The Lovely Bones) is directing The Hobbit.

The other good news, especially for Red Dawn fans, is that Sony Pictures Entertainment reached an agreement with MGM to distribute the remake of Red Dawn, as well as The Cabin in the Woods. As of this writing, the deal had not been 100 percent formalized.

In other news, with a newfound fire, MGM has started the ball rolling on remakes of Poltergeist, Robocop and Mr. Mom – three iconic 80s movies. Aside from my usual guffaws at the lack of creativity and originality in Hollywood, I must admit these remakes are definitely intriguing. Poltergeist scared the crap out of me when I was a kid and I still hate clowns because of this scene. I recently watched this on Blu-ray and even though I basked in the dim light of nostalgia, the Tobe Hooper horror flick does not hold up. I can say the exact same thing about Robocop (especially if Darren Aronofsky directs) and, to a lesser extent, Mr. Mom.

What do you think about these remakes? Are there any other 80s movies you’d like to see remade? Are there any movies from the 80s that are untouchable? Lastly, do re-boots and remakes signal that Tinsletown is creatively bankrupt? I like to get worked up about that, but could it be argued that laying out a new vision of a previously told story is, in fact, the epitome of creativity?

5 comments On Holy 1980s Remakes, Batman! MGM Goes Wild!

  • I love poltergeist however I have to say top gun is probably untouchable.

  • They better never remake Top Gun! As for the other 80’s movies go for it. They should start with the Molly Ringwald movies first! HAHAHAAA!

  • why would you remake poltergeist????????????????? dUmb.

  • Unless Spielberg is on board to produce Poltergeist it’s going to be a big fat fail. It will be yet another remake that will come and go..and the original deserves better.

    I’ve seen this film well over 200 times as a kid, i was a huge fan, and watching kids my age getting bitch slapped by ghostly baddies, it was pure cinematic terror.
    For the record that clown effed me up too.

    The bluray is a solid transfer, dated optical compositing effects aside the movie still kicks much ass.

  • Amy would DIE if they tried to remake Top Gun…she was practically raised watching that movie!

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