Film Remakes and the Death of Classics

Some things are classic and should not to be tampered with: a good old fashioned hot dog at a baseball game, most Beatles tunes, and classic well-done TV shows and movies. These are all things that, when done right, are sacred traditions or mark favorably remembered moments in time. So, why, why, why has the film industry recently taken into its head to remake all the classic 80's TV shows and films? They have remade the A-Team and now The Karate Kid!

Sony Pictures are you trying to destroy all that is good and right with the world by not only remaking this 80's classic, but then further insulting the viewership by casting Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in the starring roles? The film industry seems to think that it needs to remake its classics every single decade to appeal to the new crop of youth by utilizing that time period's current stars. Don't they realize that this is destroying the very concept of film and preventing viewers from being able to appreciate a classic?

The Karate Kid films were a symbol of the 80's and a staple for most kids in my generation; we would watch them over and over, singing the theme songs, drinking in the high level of 80's cheese, and would take inspiration from the underdog overcoming. You simply couldn't achieve the same reaction to a Karate Kid remake as the original garnered because now stardom overpowers the film itself; we are well aware of what each star earns, who they hang out with in their free-time, etc. Where once the plot of a movie and the acting ability of its stars would carry a movie, now it's based on hype; and a simple heartwarming story like The Karate Kid won't stand on that alone.

If ever there was a Karate Kid movie that needed to be remade, it's The Next Karate Kid (which starred Hilary Swank early in her career). That god awful film was a mess from start to finish the first time around, and that is the kind of film that should be redone, not something that was a successful hit the first time out. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I sincerely hope that in the future the film industry will put more stock in developing original screenplays or adaptations, rather than destroying the classics.