Reboots: Good, Bad, or Ugly ideas?

By Jonathan Goodsell
Lately, it seems Hollywood is getting bored and running out of ideas. More often than not, a new movie is yet another sequel of a franchise that's been going on for way to long. But lately, we're starting to see more and more movies that we've already seen. The reboots of old franchises seems to be the new fad in Hollywood.
My thought for this article comes from the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man premiers in two days. This reboot comes a mere five years after the last Spider-Man film, I think it's a little soon. But thinking about this film got me thinking, and I realized that we are surrounded by remakes, and more are on their way. The recent films 21 Jump Street and Tim Burton's Dark Shadows are both remakes of old TV shows. The Sci-fi hit Prometheus is a reboot of sorts to the famous Sci-fi horror film Aliens. The recent flop The Three Stooges was also an attempted remake. Some classics are even being redone, most commonly True Grit and Planet of the Apes. You look around, and it seems everything is a remake or reboot these days.
Even looking to the future there are more and more coming our way. Next year alone you have remakes of The Lone Ranger, Dirty Dancing, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Robocop, and, the one I'm most looking forward to, Superman.There are also rumors for countless other classics to be remade in the next couple years. So I guess my question is, is this a good idea? Is Hollywood finally running out of ideas, is it just a money scheme, or is there some good excitement behind it?
I guess everyone is going to have their opinion on this. Sometimes, I think it's just stupid and pointless. Take the Godzilla reboot planned for 2014 for example. Who cares? That's an old Japanese story you tell your kids to give them nightmares, not the next Hollywood hit. Some movies I don't think ever should be attempted to remake. Any of the classics like Schindler's List, Citizen Kane, The Godfather, etc. shouldn't even be attempted. They should just be left alone. Some movies I believe are made just to be remade a couple years later. Any superhero movie fits this quota. They are films for every generation, and every generation gets to see them. Take Superman for example. Christopher Reeve made him famous in the 70's and 80's. But since then there have been countless remakes whether it be blockbuster hits or TV series, and next year another film is coming out. It's a character that everyone can love and you, or at least I don't, never get tired of. Then there are movies that don't fit any of the categories. These movies are the ones that would be fun to see again, but it's not a must. Like the Jurassic Park reboot announced a while ago. It would be really cool to see the dinosaur epic come back, but part of me is really worried that it'll bomb and ruin the whole franchise for me. If they do it right though, kudos to them.
So I don't know. Everyone is going to have a different opinion on this because everyone views movies differently. Sometimes, sure, Hollywood can pull it off and make a great remake that you can love as much as the first. Though it seems that a lot of the time, by the time the end credits roll around, you just want to hide your face in shame. So you decide, are reboots good, bad, or just plain ol' ugly? I guess for me, I'll take it movie by movie and let you know my decision when I post my reviews. Until, enjoy!