Entering the movie theater on a Friday night, the lights begin to dim as a student settles in their seat, signaling the start of the movie. A few hours later, disappointment lurks at the poor movie remake.

Recently, more remakes have been arriving at the big screens, leading to controversial opinions throughout many communities. SCHS students reflect on their general opinions on remakes and what makes them a hit or a setback for the film industry. 

Freshman Sofia Watkins finds that remakes do not follow the same balance as original movies may. 

“With remakes, they have better special effects but they end up cutting some stuff out,” Watkins said. “If there’s an iconic scene they don’t cover it right. They do put in a good effort and do a good job, but it’s not the original. “

Similarly, junior Marisa Malto sees a lot of remakes to be cash grabs, especially for movies that are perfect when left alone.

“It’s kinda how books get lost in translation,” Malto said. “When you remake a movie – when it’s perfectly fine as it is – it doesn’t need a remake.”

Malto shares that a favorite series of hers, “Death Note,” received a less-favored remake. According to Malto, the remake had changed character traits and added a new love triangle, while also taking away from the intense aspect of the original. 

“‘Death Note’ is a Japanese series, and they made the protagonist a white person,” Malto said. “I missed the original characters and the thought process.”

Watkins finds that the consistent storyline also defines the success of a remake. 

“If I didn’t like the content of the original movie and they put a spin on it, I think it sometimes might (be a good change),” Watkins said. 

Watkins believes the “Percy Jackson and the Olympions” movie to be a perfect example of a movie that needs a remake. She thinks the movie could be remarkable if they remade the plot by using the storyline from the book. 

“I hope they do a better job and maybe confer with Rick Riordan on how to put together the story,” Watkins said. 

While some remakes may need a plot change, students prefer other movies to adhere consistently to the original. Malto was displeased with the “Cinderella” (2016) remake because it lacked a consistent storyline. 

“One of the things they said was that they were reimagining everything,” Malto said. “It ended up just being a cash grab.”

Malto did enjoy the “West Side Story” (2021) remake because she thoroughly enjoyed the music implemented into the scenes.

“Musicals are nice things to remake,” Malto said. “(The music) is like 50-50. It really depends, but sometimes it gets better, or sometimes the original is better.”

Though Malto did not find the “Mulan” (2020) remake interesting, she was happy to see diversity and inclusion in the Hollywood industry. 

“It was nice seeing an Asian protagonist and getting that representation in Hollywood,” Malto said. 

While some remakes ended up successful, Watkins believes that it is not worth the time to remake every movie. 

“I don’t see why you would remake ‘Charlie Brown Christmas,’ or the ‘Bee Movie,’” Watkins said. “Even ‘Ice Age’ because there is no need.”

While a good remake is hard to come by, students find that remakes can turn out great if they are made with a strong thought process and creative mindset. 

“If you are actually using your creativity in a way that reimagines what the story is, I’d think that remakes are actually really fun,” Malto said.