The Best and Worst Remakes (part 1)

With Journey To the Center Of the Earth coming out very soon, I thought now would be a great time to put up a list of the best and worst remakes in cinematic history. This post will be dedicated to the three best remakes. The next will be dedicated to the three worst.

1. The Departed (2006)

Did you guys know this was a remake? Well it was. It was a remake of Internal Affairs (1990.) The Departed is a story that spins on a dime. The basic plot-line is that Matt Damon is taken under the wing of Jack Nicholson; Jack Nicholson is the leader of the Irish Mob in that area. Matt Damon then becomes a cop to give the Mob an edge over the cops; giving them an inside man. At the same time, Leonardo DiCaprio changes his accent to change his origin and becomes an undercover cop inside the Irish Mob. He is taken under the wing of Martin Sheen. At the same time, Mark Wahlberg is a cop who is suspicious of Matt Damon. They all try to find the rats and (strangely enough) Leo is in charge of looking for the undercover cop and Matt Damon is looking for the inside man in the police. Add all these actors, a brilliant script, and Martin Scorsese together and you get a great film. What I really like about this film is that the song "Comfortably Numb" plays twice in it. Why do I like that fact so much? Because in the video for that song, the character plays with a rat and gets a fever. Coincidence that The Departed is entirely about the fact that rats are dangerous?

2. A Bug's Life (1998)

Now, two things come with me putting this here. 1. What's this a remake of? 2. Where's The Magnificent Seven? Seven Samurai, and not on here. I didn't put The Magnificent Seven on here because (a) I haven't seen it (b) it's kind of bizzare to Americanize a foreign film (c) everyone puts it on their list. So, back to A Bug's Life I bet you didn't know that it was a remake of Seven Samurai. Now think about the plot; a bunch of ants find out that they are about to get attacked by grasshoppers. A brave one decides to hire warriors to protect themselves. They end up being circus performers. O.K. so that part isn't in Seven Samurai but it can't be a coincidence that there are seven bugs and that the basic plot is very similar. A Bug's Life was so great because it was one of the few films that was equally entertaining for children and adults. Most films go one way or another, but A Bug's Life managed to stay neutral.

3. Casino Royale (2006)

Have you seen the original? Do me a favor and try to forget that it exists. It was made by five directors and was an attempt at comedy. Let's put it this way; rumor has it that Peter Sellers quit early because he found out Orson Welles was going to be in it. They finished the film without him and changed the script so that he didn't appear in any other scenes. So now you know the star power the original had. Other than that, there was nothing (I mean absolutely nothing) good about this film. The remake was smart, action packed with a script co-written by Oscar Winner Paul Haggis (Best Original Screenplay for Crash in 2006.) He also wrote Million Dollar Baby and Letters From Iwo Jima. I almost feel bad calling this a remake because the resumé of this screenwriter makes it at a totally different level. The original was a trashy comedy. The second one was nominated for the Best British Film Award at the BAFTA's. Which one sounds better to you?