> I'm not really a big fan of recent trends of re-hashing movies, the Die
> Hard 4.0 / Live Free or Die Hard was a bit of the reverse - the originals
> were very violent action movies but the new one was toned down for PG13
> and its stunts and special effects just seemed a bit too cartoonish and
> over-the-top.
 
I'd personally probably put the Die Hard movies in a similar boat to the
Rambo thing.  As in, the first is still best, but the fourth is arguably as
good as or better than the other two.  Die Hard 3 is a bit of an exception;
I do think it was good, where as Rambo 3 was more of the same. But I was
fairly entertained by Die Hard 4, regardless if they strayed from the
formula a bit. I'd have to rewatch Die Hard 2 to know if I'd put it above
it, though.
 
As for rehashes, I liked Transformers, despite some goofy bits.  I thought
the action made up for it.  I liked The Invasion (Invasion of the Body
Snatchers remake).  War of the Worlds, Tom Cruise aside, was good for the
first hour, then took a sudden downward spiral.  I Am Legend was okay but
didn't live up to the hype.  The new Superman was alright.  Narnia was
probably better suited to a younger audience but was still okay at times.
 
Anyway I'm sure I'm forgetting several, but with these remakes, we
occasionally find a gem.  I'm hoping Indiana Jones and the next Trek movie
follow suit.  But as with most stuff, I'm sure how good somebody considers
a remake is directly related to how much they enjoy the subject matter
itself. Much as I consider The Wizard to still be a great movie, despite
critics railing into it for all sorts of reasons.  I was a kid from the NES
generation, what wasn't there to like!

--- D'Bridge 2.95