Franchise Resurrection (Continued)
Beverly Hills Cop
Last film: "Beverly Hills Cop III" (1994)
Status:
"Beverly Hills Cop III" has long been considered a blemish on this Eddie Murphy action-comedy series, which had kicked
off in 1984 with the terrific first film. Although Murphy has said that he'd
like to do a fourth entry to erase the bad memories of "III," there are several
warning signs afoot: first, Murphy himself has displayed a notable laziness in
his film work in recent years; second, there are rumors of tailoring the film
for a PG-13 rating, which would sand the edges right off the character; and,
third, Brett Ratner, the king of generic filmmaking, has
been selected as director. If they're looking to get back to the feel of the
original, this isn't the way to go. Leave it alone, Eddie, and get back to the
clubs like you've been threatening to do.
Lethal Weapon
Last film: "Lethal Weapon 4" (1998)
Status: The last
"Lethal Weapon" was the most expensive and least interesting of the saga, as
loose cannon cop Riggs (Mel Gibson) was finally settling down and everyone
just looked like they were, in the words of his partner, Murtaugh (Danny Glover), "getting too old for this s---." It
didn't help that the script was not even finished when shooting started, with
new stars Jet Li and Chris Rock jammed into an already
crowded and incoherent story line. Director Richard Donner has said that he has
an idea for a fifth entry, and Warner Bros. supposedly wants to reactivate the
series, but Gibson is reportedly not interested. For once, we'd say Riggs is the
sane one here.
Superman
Last film: "Superman Returns" (2006)
Status: A recent
entry in the franchise resurrection game, Superman was not served well by
director Bryan Singer's colossal misfire, which introduced the
utterly bland and way too young Brandon Routh in what was essentially a more morose
remake of the original 1978 classic. With talk of another reboot floating
around, here are some suggestions for either Singer or a new director: ditch
Routh in favor of someone older (our suggestion: put Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" fame in the
tights), and get rid of Lex Luthor and his real estate scams once and for all.
Plot: A dynamic Superman is busy watching over the world
when he is suddenly confronted by villainous alien (and fan favorite) Brainiac,
who has miniaturized and encased Krypton's sole surviving city, Kandor, in a
force field. Brainiac's demand: Turn Earth over to him in exchange for the last
remnants of Superman's home planet. Which world does the Man of Steel
choose?
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Last
film: "Freddy vs. Jason" (2003)
Status: The
"Nightmare" franchise could have gone out on a high note with the brilliantly
conceived "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" (1994), but they canceled that out
with the long-anticipated "FVJ" nine years later -- admittedly cheesy fun but
still a rather dimwitted coda to the series. Instead of continuing that story
line, both "Nightmare" and "Friday the 13th" are being remade (the latter coming out early
next year) as Hollywood continues to plunder every horror classic ever filmed.
The producers have already announced that Robert Englund won't be back in his iconic role as
Freddy, so we have to ask: Why bother? The series has nowhere to go and a remake
is bound to be disappointing. Leave Freddy in hell.
The
Goonies
Last film: "The Goonies"
(1985)
Status: In this case there's only the one film, but
"The Goonies" has endured because its combination of treasure hunt, boys
adventure, and fantasy wish-fulfillment has never been forgotten by the many
children who saw it in the '80s and came of age over the past two decades. Talk
of a sequel has percolated for years, with star Sean Astin, director Richard Donner, and story
conceiver Steven Spielberg all supposedly interested. It just
might be fun to revisit the Goonies as adults, with kids of their own.
Plot: The Goonies have grown up and, in a surprising turn
of events, are now interested themselves in developing the Goon Docks into a
modern community and tourist "destination." But their basically good intentions
are being manipulated by an evil conglomerate head (sort of a corporate version
of the first film's Mama Fratelli). It's up to the next generation of Goonies --
the first group's children -- to open their parents' eyes and help them save
their town one more time.
What series would you rekindle? Write us
at heymsn@microsoft.com
Don Kaye
writes for Fangoria, Blabbermouth and others.
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