This year saw more adaptations, remakes, and reboots hit screens than at any point in recent memory. The streaming explosion has led to an insatiable demand for content, while an increased need for Hollywood to tap into the global market has ensured that fewer risks are being taken than ever before. Why go to the trouble of writing and directing an original movie or TV show and hope people want to watch it when you can just repackage an older property with an existing audience?
Of course, originality is no guarantee of a good movie or show, just as a remake or adaptation doesn't mean that the end result is going to be safe and boring. There have been many great releases based on existing material over the years, and the explosion in superhero storytelling means that writers and filmmakers have decades of amazing comic books to tap into for ideas. Equally, for younger audiences not familiar with earlier versions of books or movies, a modern remake can be just as potent as the original.
2019 saw a huge number or reboots and adaptations hit screens. There were big-budget superhero movies, yet more Stephen King adaptations, dark comic book TV shows, and new versions of much-loved novels. And as ever, some were great, some less so. So here's our roundup of the best and worst adaptations, remakes, and reboots of the year. And once you've read that, check out this look back on the year's most disappointing blockbusters and our guide biggest movies to watch in 2020.
10. BEST: Umbrella Academy
Even by superhero comic standards, the Umbrella Academy books are eccentric, to put it lightly. They don't seem like a likely candidate for a successful adaptation to any other medium, much less live-action, given just how surreal things eventually get, from a man with his head sewn onto a giant ape body to a time-traveling adult that looks like a child "married" to a department store mannequin. But somehow, against all odds, Netflix managed to thread the needle and pull it off. Umbrella Academy the TV show wasn't afraid to play things a little fast and loose with the source material, a gambit that could have had disastrous consequences but instead only served to elevate and update the story into a modern context. That, coupled with a stellar cast, appropriately whimsical art direction, and a grounding emotional core, managed to make Umbrella Academy one of our favorite superhero shows of the year--and one of 2019's very best adaptations across all genres. - Meg Downey
9. WORST: Pet Sematary
The 1989 movie adaptation of Stephen King's 1983 novel Pet Sematary is not considered a classic in the way that the Carrie, The Shining, or The Dead Zone films are. Pet Sematary is an effective if somewhat trashy version of one of King's bleakest books. This second adaptation is not trashy, but it's also not good. In trying to capture the novel's dark tone, directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer opt for a sombre and oppressive atmosphere, which would be fine if the movie wasn't so sluggishly paced and generally dull. There's also an over-reliance on cheesy jump scares you've seen a thousand times before, and while the big plot changes don't harm the movie as such, they also add nothing to it. The performances are good, especially Amy Seimetz and John Lithgow, but ultimately it's just another subpar adaptation of a King novel that deserves much better. - Dan Auty
8. BEST: My Hero Academia
It's not uncommon for something to be lost in the translation from manga to anime, especially with a series as fast-paced and bombastic as the ones found in the Shonen Jump magazine, yet somehow the My Hero Academia anime keeps pulling the transformation from page to screen off flawlessly. 2019 saw the anime enter its fourth season and there's yet to be a dip in quality or faithfulness to the source material. - Meg Downey
7. BEST: Doctor Sleep
We're in a Stephen King adaptation renaissance that doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. From the It films to Hulu's Castle Rock, there's plenty to love that's being inspired by the horror author's work. Unfortunately, one of the best of these adaptations in recent memory somehow missed its shot at finding an audience in theaters. Doctor Sleep is a sequel to both King's Shining novel, but also Stanley Kubrick's iconic take on the work. This is a movie made with love by a true fan of the original, one that blends great performances from Ewan McGregor (adult Danny Torrance) and Rebecca Ferguson (Rose the Hat) with a compelling and spooky story, as Danny passes the torch to a young girl named Abra (Kyliegh Curran) who shines even brighter than he does. - Chris E. Hayner
6. WORST: Hellboy
When it was announced that Hellboy would be getting a reboot, with Stranger Things star David Harbour playing the demonic anti-hero, there was a lot to get excited about. Director Neil Marshall stated that the movie would be dark, violent, and more in line with Mike Mignola's comics than Guillermo del Toro's films, and the first images of Harbour in character did little to stop fans from thinking that the new Hellboy would deliver the goods. Sadly, it wasn't to be. The movie was a crushing disappointment, with a messy narrative, terrible CGI effects, and extremely variable performances. Harbour does his best with a poor script, but his portrayal of Hellboy lacks the humor, compassion, and camaraderie that Ron Perlman brought to Del Toro's movies. And while the movie is certainly darker and more violent than the previous films, it's never scary, and the over-reliance on cheap-looking digital gore quickly becomes tiresome. - Dan Auty
5. BEST: Shazam
In a grim, dark world of DC Comics movies that take themselves incredibly seriously, Shazam is a ray of pure sunlight and joy. This is a movie about a kid who's given superpowers, and it's treated as such. While there's a villain to battle and a world to save, what Shazam does so well is making you believe this tough superhero is actually just a kid. He uses his powers to buy beer, impress his friends, and take on bullies. This is, honestly, the lighthearted superhero fare we needed in a 2019 that saw the fallout from Thanos destroying half of the universe. More movies like Shazam, please. - Chris E. Hayner
4. WORST: The Witcher
Netflix's The Witcher is simply broken. Like the original stories, it begins in media res for Geralt of Rivia, so game fans hoping to learn more about the Witcher himself won't find an origin story here. And by trying and utterly failing to cram new and remixed backstories for Yennefer and Ciri in without making any attempts to place each plotline within the larger story, The Witcher completely falls apart. Game fans who haven't read the books will be totally befuddled, and book readers will be scratching their heads just as frequently. If you're utterly devoted to the world of The Witcher, you'll certainly enjoy the familiar aesthetic and characters, but beyond that, this series is hard to recommend. - Michael Rougeau
3. BEST: The Boys
The comic book series The Boys is outlandish, over-the-top, grotesque, and not a book you'd ever want to give to children. So when Amazon revealed it would be adapting it to a live-action series, many people were confused about how that would work. Luckily, Amazon's first season of The Boys pulled back on the adult content from the comics, believe it or not, and focused more on the main story of people trying to take down corrupt superheroes. The core, the heart, and the characters are still there, but Amazon's take is much more focused on story rather than trying to go over-the-top with ridiculous moments (although those moments still exist). As far as adaptations go, this is one of the top ones of the year because it reigned in the source material so well, creating an engrossing and intriguing season. - Mat Elfring
2. WORST: Dark Phoenix
The Dark Phoenix saga is one of the greatest stories in superhero comics--it occupied a year's worth of X-Men comics in 1980 and is now considered a classic. The story of Jean Grey's corruption by strange cosmic forces has been unsatisfactorily adapted once before, in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, so hopes were initially high that this new version might do the story more justice. But the results were even worse. By this point, literally no one seemed to care about the X-Men movie series--critically maligned and now owned by a studio that clearly wanted to kill it off and reboot it at a later date (i.e. Disney), this limp, obviously-reshot film is marked by bored performances, lazy writing, and an almost total lack of exciting superhero action. Sophie Turner does her best to give Jean some emotional depth, but ultimately this was a sad end to a once-great superhero series. - Dan Auty
1. BEST: Jojo Rabbit
Based on the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, Jojo Rabbit is easily one of the most delightful movies of the year--despite tackling the sensitive subject matter of one boy's indoctrination into the Hitler Youth. Thankfully, young Jojo's (Roman Griffin Davis) world is turned upside-down when he discovers that his mother (Scarlett Johnasson) is harboring a young Jewish girl in their walls. Equal parts hilarious, sweet, and horrifying--and with an instant classic portrayal of a bumbling, imaginary Hitler by director Taika Waititi--Jojo Rabbit is a must-see of 2019. - Michael Rougeau
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.