Mark Twain said: “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.”
Fast-forward nearly 12 decades and never has this statement been truer, especially in Hollywood. The movie industry has never been averse to revisiting a classic, but over the past few years there have been countless comebacks of film franchises and stories. From Blade Runner, Mean Girls and Point Break to It, Road House and the Addams Family, they’ve all been rebooted to varying degrees of success. Here’s what we think of the most recent remake tranche.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Eddie Murphy’s wise-cracking Detroit policeman, Axel Foley, was ranked number 55 on Empire magazine’s list of “The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time”. So it was only a matter of time before he and the Beverly Hills Cop franchise would give the box office another crack. Beverly Hills Cop was the highest-grossing film of 1984, meaning 2024 is the 40th anniversary of the film and the perfect opportunity to bring Foley back.
The new film could have gone in various directions, and I can’t decide whether it’s surprising or not that they chose to lean so heavily into the original by making what is, in essence, the same movie. Sticking to the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, Axel F starts exactly the way the original did, with a now 63-year-old Foley driving through the cold and gritty streets of Detroit, just as the 23-year-old did four decades earlier – both to the beat of hit 1980s tune The Heat Is On. As a long-time fan, I am here for this approach. It is a joyful ode to a great film, great characters, and a great soundtrack.
Murphy is still playing Foley as he did decades ago – wearing the same Detroit Lions jacket, jeans and Adidas trainers, though he seems to have changed from an Adidas Country to Adidas Superstar. It might just be his biggest character development.
Paul Reiser, Judge Reinhold and the now late John Ashton return too, and it wouldn’t be Beverly Hills Cop without a cameo from Bronson Pinchot’s highly amusing Serge. Kevin Bacon, another footloose and fancy-free king of 1980s cinema, joins the cast as the stereotypical cop turned bad guy.
I loved the film, but I wondered how audiences would react and whether they would still see the appeal of Foley. Apparently, they loved it too, and the film is a Netflix hit that has exceeded expectations. While this isn’t going to win an Oscar, it is nostalgia in its truest, best and most ridiculous form, and is worth a watch.
3.5 stars out of 5
The Crow
It’s never easy living up to the hype of a cult film, and that’s what the original The Crow was when it was released in 1994. The dark superhero film grossed $94m on a $23m budget and even critic extraordinaire Roger Ebert called it a “stunning work of visual style”. It is, of course, also infamous, because Brandon Lee, star of the film and son of legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee, was killed in an on-set accident while filming.
I was a huge fan of the original and proudly hung the film poster on my adolescent bedroom wall. I wasn’t alone – at Halloween parties in late 1990s Joburg, you could guarantee that at least one mopey teenager would be wearing a black leather coat and the character’s iconic white and black face paint.
The original film (and graphic novel by James O’Barr) had already spawned a bunch of not-so-great sequels or reiterations, so when I heard they were making another one, 30 years on, I was both excited and sceptical. That said, any fears were allayed by the trailer, which stars a very beefy and tattooed Bill Skarsgård and is set to Post Malone’s Take What You Want, featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Travis Scott.
My take is a controversial one because the film has pretty much flopped. The Guardian called it an “unfathomably awful goth remake”, but I enjoyed it. Today’s Crow (unapologetically different to the original) is a Vans shoe-wearing, moody punk dude with a great wardrobe, and a penchant for illicit substances and samurai swords. Like the original character, he’s hellbent on gory revenge.
The film also has a kick-ass soundtrack – one I would have walked Cresta Shopping Centre for back in the day. It features Joy Division and Gary Numan, for example.
While it probably doesn’t stand up to the original, The Crow 2024 taps into the zeitgeist and is certainly something that teen me would have loved. It is edgy, stylish, and cool. My advice – throw on your floor-length black leather jacket, grab a tub of popcorn and embrace your inner angst.
3 stars out of 5
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
How can one not love a film about a freelance “bio-exorcist” who’s festooned in a natty black-and-white suit? 1988’s Beetlejuice was the ultimate crazy comedy-horror film. It starred Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin. Directed by the goth horror icon Tim Burton, the film was a critical and commercial hit.
Great performances and a cracking soundtrack aside, the real magic of Beetlejuice was Burton’s ability to create an alternative world that was both wacky, yet stylish and unforgettable, and which referenced 1980s postmodernism, Memphis design, the surreal art of Salvador Dali and gothic style.
This year’s version, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, may carry on the narrative 36 years later, but this manifestation of an alternative afterlife is still a perfect ode to 1980s excess, with a pinch of “bureaucratic nightmare” on the side. Ryder, Keaton and O’Hara are back too – but this time joined by Burton’s new muse, Jenna Ortega.
The film is nearly, but not quite, as fun as the original and I was transfixed by every magic detail. Just as the first one had an unforgettable lip-synching scene of Day-O, the new movie’s version has a completely wild and unexpected rendition of the classic Richard Harris tune, MacArthur Park.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is gross, loyal to the original in all the right ways, sharply styled and pure Burton excellence.
4.5 stars out of 5
Twisters
If there is one constant, it’s that there is just something utterly comforting about a big-budget Hollywood disaster film. Flying houses, clever one-liners and dangerous natural phenomena never get old.
When Twister was released in 1996, it was a huge hit, grossing $495m worldwide. It was also nominated for two Academy Awards (best visual effects and best sound) and was one of the first films to be released on DVD. With a strong cast of Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Philip Seymour Hoffman, it was filmic gold.
Twisters – the plurally named 2024 version – is just as fun. It’s also more of a reimagining than a sequel or remake – essentially, a standalone movie for a new generation who don’t need to have seen Twister to enjoy it.
It stars bright young things Daisy Edgar-Jones as Kate, a meteorologist and former storm chaser with a dark past, and Glen Powell as Tyler, a smug meteorologist/social media influencer and storm chaser. They meet, sparks fly, they talk science and technology, and twisters abound – and all while Luke Combs, one of country music’s new megastars, blasts out the very catchy Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma. What’s not to like?
3.5 stars out of 5
Top Image: Collage. Alex Shuper/Unsplash/Currency.
