With a new 'Spider-Man' on the way, we grade past film series
reboots
By Sean Axmaker
Special to MSN Movies
It seems like the "Spider-Man" movies, which helped turn the superhero
movie into a Hollywood boom industry, just wrapped their blockbuster run and
already there's a brand-new incarnation of the superhero story, with a fresh
young cast and a new take on the origin story. It's nothing unusual for sequels
or even film franchises to recast roles with new actors. There were three
Charlie Chans in the classic Hollywood run of mysteries (none of them were
Asian, I might add), and even more actors played James Bond. And, of course,
Hollywood has never been shy about remaking its past successes for the next
generation.
But the wholesale reboot of a successful series is a relatively new
phenomenon, a matter of retaining a brand name without the baggage of previous
incarnations (or the ballooning price tags of veteran stars). And the sudden
turnaround on "Spider-Man" announces an alarming trend. Word is out that
Universal wants to reboot its supernatural action series "The Mummy" (itself a
reworking of the old horror series) and Lionsgate is tamping down rumors that it
is rebooting "Twilight" after the final film. Modern Hollywood has
increasingly shown its preference for product branding over original stories.
Everyone wants to launch a successful franchise. Now they can just rework those
old ones over and over again!
That said, there have been some interesting reinventions along the way.
Here's our report card of the best – and the worst – of the film series revivals
and reboots.
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