REMAKING THE ‘80s

Written by Matthew Pejkovic

It seems that Hollywood has its eyes firmly set on remaking every beloved favourite from the 1980s.

The Karate Kid, Fright Night, Conan the Barbarian and upcoming release Footloose have all been given the remake treatment, and with several more films in (re)production, the onslaught upon the era of excess is unlikely to stop.

Here are several 1980s classics set to revisit a cinema near you.

LETHAL WEAPON

The buddy cop classic which starred Mel Gibson and Danny Glover has been tapped for a do over, yet exactly how Warner Bros. plan to replicate the chemistry and unique blend of action comedy which the original series had is a mystery.

As far as casting is concerned, The Hurt Locker tandem of Jeremy Renner and Aaron Mackie would be ace.

SCARFACE

Not many films can boast the cult movie status which Scarface employs, yet Universal Pictures have decided to take another stab at the popular gangster film with a “re-imaganing” currently in development.

Check out my article on how Scarface should be remade.

DIRTY DANCING

A legion of Dirty Dancing fans cried foul when it was announced that a remake was underway.

The original starred the late great Patrick Swayze as a sexy dance instructor, who turned Jennifer Grey’s ugly duckling into a moving, grooving dancer.

Generations of woman have swooned at their on screen romance, leading to question: just who can re-play these roles? How about Crazy, Stupid, Love pair Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone?

THE EVIL DEAD

Considering that every other horror movie has been remade, it makes sense that cult horror classic The Evil Dead will eventually be violated, sorry, made anew for the next generation.

A supposed sequel has been gestating for a while now, with writer/director Sam Raimi completing a draft when he was directing Spider Man 3.

But is seems that idea has been put aside for a straight ahead remake, and while no one can beat Bruce Campbell as the demon slaying hero Ash, it would be fun to see Ryan Reynolds don the chainsaw and “boomstick”

ROMANCING THE STONE

The 1984 hit Romancing the Stone was the perfect blend of action, adventure, comedy and romance which made stars out of Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

It was their sizzling chemistry which gave Romancing the Stone that extra something, so it’s hard to see just who can replicate such chemistry today. Rumours of Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl brought with it a large chorus of boos, and those who suggest Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson really need to watch Fools Gold.

The Romancing the Stone remake still remains in early development.

HIGHLANDER

For a movie which proclaims “there can only be one’”, the action classic Highlander has been busy spawning 4 sequels, a TV series, animated series and now a remake.

Justin Lin (Fast Five) signed on to direct the film but has since left the project, and long standing rumours that Gerard Butler will take on the role of immortal hero Connor MacLeod remain just that: rumours.

Whether Highlander will be remade remains to be seen. Hopefully it will remain that way.