JCC Reboots You'd Like to See

Sometimes I see movies or TV shows that have stories with a lot of potential, but the production just doesn't live up to the story. So ITT, let's share our thoughts for shows that deserve a second chance.

Star Trek: Voyager Interesting premise, let down by uneven writing, unlikeable characters, and unimaginative production. Let the characters have some real long-standing disputes among each other, like DS9, and chuck the cosmic reset button out the airlock.

Eragon No, it's not an original story, but it could have been fun to watch the classic SW saga play out with dragons. If only it had been more... well... watchable.

The Hobbit There are moments in PJ's trilogy that are just sublime, but those are utterly betrayed by the excesses of unrestrained blockbuster filmmaking. I'm sure a good professional film editor could make huge improvements to the trilogy, but I think it needs a reboot.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century The concept of a modern man adapting to life in the 25th century has some serious story potential, if it's not wasted on silly space opera action and lame attempts at comedy.

Cutthroat Island Fantastic score and classic pirate story, but the acting and production somehow failed to put me on a pirate ship full of scurvy dogs.

And what do you want to see rebooted?

 

Highlander -- if there was ever a great idea that was ripe for using a) modern fight-choreography and b) modern VFX, this is the prime candidate.

The Last Starfighter -- preferably as a sequel than a reboot, but conceptually ripe as well. Updated FX, dealing with MMOs (similar to what America's Army tried to do in the real world, as possibly the subject of Ernest Cline's Armada).

Conan the Barbarian -- hard to top Ahnuld, Mako, and JEJ, but it can be done. Just not like how they did it the last time.

 

Star Wars - Just to see what happens here. Preferably after I've stepped down, though.

 

American Ninja - but more like a sequelboot.

 

ReBoot season 5.

 

An American version of Russian Ark would be really interesting, they could film it in the White House.

I love the Fast & Furious movies, but after 7 films the continuity has gotten a little complicated, and with Paul Walker being gone, that makes things more difficult, so I think they should just start fresh. New, young cast, remake the first movie and then depart from there.

Rashomon just begs for a remake. This might sound a little weird... I always thought it would be interesting if it was done from just one character's perspective, could bring a fresh interpretation to the source material!

Would love to see a reboot of Ben-Hur. I know it's classic, but the story is really prime material for revisiting and would benefit a lot from modern film-making technology and sensibilities.

Whiplash was great, obviously a critical success, but I would really like to see an all-female reboot of that. Meryl Streep as the JK Simmons character would be my first pick, but I think other actresses could do the role justice.

 

Yes, I don't mean to imply that Ricki Bobby isn't correct and Highlander is not the greatest movie ever made; just I'd be interested in seeing a modern-updated version of that since Christopher Lambert is blind and can't swing a sword well...

 

Starship Troopers CGI has come a long way since it was filmed, so they ought to be able to do justice to putting the Mobile Infantry power armor on screen. (Iron Man, anybody?) And plotwise, for the love of all that's literate, read the &*%^*&(&^ing book!

 

I'd contend if your gripe with Verhoeven's Starship Troopers is its lack of faithfulness to the source material you've missed The Point (TM).

 

I, Robot

 

Preferably without the fourth rate hack Will Smith I assume?

 

Keep Will Smith, lose the robots.

 

You forgot one.

Gender-swapped The First Wives Club to The First Husband's Club, about late-middle-aged bohunks complaining about their sugar mamas trading them in for younger models...

 

i, reboot

 

Star Trek, Set during the Romulan War of course.

TRON. Full Reboot with a multiracial cast.

E. R. Burroughs vision of Mars. That means get naked and violent!

X-Men and F4 finally in the MCU.

 

John Carter is perfect. If this were the sequel the sequel thread you would be right.

 

Blue Thunder. OR, place Blue Thunder and Airwolf in the same universe and sell Airwolf an a continuation of the program that produced Blue Thunder then just make the sequel and call it Thunder Wolf with a badass megafuturistic helo.

 

Interesting list. Curious about this entry, partially because the movies are not that old (compared to many movies that get rebooted). I definitely know what you mean about The Hobbit movies, but I'm not sure how I'd propose redoing them in a way that would definitely yield better results. Would one part of this for you be making it just one or two movies instead of a trilogy?

 

The hobbit didn't have any robots in it.

 

I'm sure the story could be told effectively in one or two films, but I'd have no objection to a trilogy, if - big if! - the tone matched the book and there were no scenes that a nine year old would dismiss as juvenile humor.

I got the point; it was delivered with all the subtlety of a thermonuclear sledgehammer. It's still a crappy movie.

 

Hellscape.

 

I know Game of Thrones isn't over yet, but I would like to see an ASOIAF adaptation done by competent writers. Preferably animated. And preferably after GRRM finishes the ****ing thing (yes, I know, wocky, Rogue_Ten, et al.)

 

Battle Beyond the Stars