5 Useless Remakes of Classic Movies No One Asked For
Some iconic movies were never supposed to receive a remake, and these five are the perfect example: these absolutely unnecessary reboots no one asked for fell flat.
5. The Mummy ( 2017)
Few movies had such complete and utter failure despite having Tom Cruise as their lead star. Cruise's The Mummy was supposed to mark the beginning of the new era of the Monsterverse but despite its strong action sequences, it fell flat.
The original 1999 movie's star Brendan Fraser pointed out that stripping the movie of all humor was Cruise's main mistake.
4. Poltergeist (2015)
Do you remember when everyone started frantically rebooting every single horror franchise of the past? Yeah, that was definitely a time in the history of cinema. It wasn't exactly surprising when serial remakers came for 1982's Poltergeist, too — and its failure was not a shocker, either. When you butcher an iconic horror with screamers around every corner, you get what you deserve.
3. Carrie (2013)
Adapting Stephen King 's novels is an entire sport for moviemakers and one that rarely brings them to the pedestal. Out of dozens of adaptations, few are considered truly great — and 1976's Carrie is definitely one of them. What could go wrong with a remake? Well, virtually everything. Compared to the original movie, 2013's Carrie was considered bland and redundant.
2. Planet of the Apes (2001)
"But Planet of the Apes was pretty great, what do you mean?" Yes, if we're talking about Matt Reeves's movie that came later — but not if we're talking about Tim Burton's 2001 attempt. While bringing the original 1968 movie to modernity seemed like a good idea at the time, the final result was nothing short of lackluster — and thanks to its failure, all attempts ceased for another 15 years.
1. Ben-Hur (2016)
As unfortunate as it is, 2016's Ben-Hur remake was destined to fail dramatically: you can't simply reboot an iconic and record-breaking 1959 classic that won 11 (!) Oscars and hope to not be perceived as a charlatan. The Ben-Hur remake is largely considered to be the most pointless, unnecessary, and failed remake of all time — just like the original film is considered to be one of the best movies of all time.