REVIEWS OF REBOOTS

Three RAZZ writers share their opinions of film reboots of some of our favorite films, both complimenting and critiquing them.

Death On The Nile

Kenneth Branagh’s 2022 remake film Death on the Nile, based on Agatha Christie’s 1937 book, has received mixed responses. Some fondly remember John Guillermin’s award-winning 1978 original. The film follows the adventures of detective Hercule Poirot in Egypt, where he is accompanying the Doyles on their honeymoon. The couple fears Jacqueline de Bellefort, the ex-fiancé of Simon Doyle and former friend of his wealthy new wife, Linnet. When the trail of deaths begins, Poirot must investigate and arrest those responsible.

Kenneth Branagh stars as Poirot. His acting makes the two-hour run time feel tedious, especially when compared to Peter Ustinov’s previous portrayal of the character. Ustinov complemented the original film’s style of drawing-room mystery, whereas Branagh’s interpretation veers towards bigger is better. Especially when it comes to Poirot’s moustache.

‘Ustinov complemented the original film’s style of drawing-room mystery, whereas Branagh’s interpretation veers towards bigger is better.’

The film is dynamic with exciting, scenic visuals. However, this sometimes detracts from the star-studded cast, which includes Emma Macky, Gal Gadot, and Tom Bateman. The original film is faithful to the book’s storyline, but the remake expands on its character’s backstories and explains Poirot’s motivation for becoming a detective. If you value the traditional style of whodunnits, the original film is for you. For a dramatic reinterpretation packed with special effects, watch the 2022 Death on the Nile.

By Alice Coe

Persuasion

Jumanji

The 2017 film, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, is a star-studded reboot of the 1995 classic, Jumanji It follows a group of high schoolers who are transported into a video game version of Jumanji and must complete it to escape. However, if they die in the game, they die in real life. The film's fresh take on the classic tale, including the use of video games, modern humour, and references, adds to its appeal to audiences.

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart's excellent performances bring a new energy and comedic timing to the movie, while the use of avatars adds further humorous moments that make the film a fun watch.

‘Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart’s excellent performances bring a new energy and comedic timing to the movie.’

Although the reboot doesn’t fully replace the magic of Robin Williams' performance, there is a heartfelt nod to his character, Alan, when the characters examine a treehouse with his name etched on it. Serving as a reminder of his lasting impact on the franchise. Overall, this film offers a new take on the classic story and is an enjoyable adventure movie that appeals to fans of the original film and newcomers to the Jumanji franchise.

By Tais Donaldson

Carrie Cracknell’s Persuasion is riddled with issues, both as an adaptation of the original Austen novel and as a film in its own right. One of its principal missteps is its butchery of the subtle, singular character of Anne Elliot; simply put, 2022’s Anne is fun, and Anne is not supposed to be fun.

‘One of its principal missteps is its butchery of the subtle, singular character of Anne Elliot.’

2022’s Anne gets drunk and yells at Wentworth from her window, pranks her foolish sister and liberally dishes out flirty banter, roguish eyebrow raises and withering asides like a two-dimensional Fleabag. Earlier Persuasion’s, specifically the novel and Adrian Shergold’s 2007 adaptation, are many things: witty, astute, redemptive, romantic. But they are also, often, intensely sad. Cracknell’s glib, self-assured Anne Elliot obliterates Austen’s subtlety of character, and her expression of the profound, insular grief of wasted love.

‘Cracknell’s glib, self-assured Anne Elliot obliterates Austen’s subtlety of character, and her expression of the profound, insular grief of wasted love.’

This lack of subtlety characterises much of the film. While the 2007 adaptation skilfully captures quiet moments of intense connection between the separated lovers, the 2022 adaptation disregards these understated, tension-generating moments in favour of incongruous air-clearing discussions between Anne and Wentworth about their relationship. This completely undermines the original story’s power.

In short, this adaptation flattens Persuasion’s complex characters, cultural commentary, and suppressed misery into a formulaic, utterly mundane romcom.

By Alice Frearson

Repetition has (ironically) been recurrent throughout our history. Especially in terms of filmmaking, it often leads to the question of what in our human nature draws us to watch the reboots of films over and over again. Take the reboot of Rebecca released in 2020 for instance, starring Lily James. It attracted major media attention and was on my recommended Netflix watch for weeks, I had already seen countless versions and knew the story well, so what made me cave to the pressure of rewatching something I already knew the ending to? I guess the only way I can answer was the incredible marketing team of Netflix and that ambiguous feeling tied between comfort with a twist of refreshment. True, the adaptation was refreshing. It was nice supporting another Lily James movie and watching the story unravel through utilised 21st film approaches. However, ultimately, I was disappointed. The first time I watched Rebecca, it was the classically coined “original” version from 1940 and it made me think why it ever needed another one. I suppose the colour of the 2020 adaptation was a nice touch, but it wasn’t a necessity added to the story. If anything, the 2020 version tainted my viewing experience of Rebecca and made me question why I spent two hours watching a film I had already seen when I had already watched one that paid greater homage to the book.

On the other hand, the execution of the Marvels Spider-Man series has been one of the best successes of a film reboot. You could ask pretty much anyone if they have seen it or at least heard of it to get an opinion on the matter. I liked this reboot be cause it skipped the trope we all know: boy gets bit by a spider, boy becomes spi der man and fights crime. Marvel knew their demo graphic and ran with the cause; introducing the audience to new themes addressing conflicts within Peter Parker and an expansion in lore simultaneously. Rather than miroring previous tributes, the film instead

“Repetition has (ironically) been recurrent throughout our history. Especially in terms of filmmaking, it often leads to the question of what in our human nature draws us to watch the reboots of films over and over again.”