GenreList: Reboot, Remake Review, Part II

This time, on GenreList: Robocop. Godzilla. Spider-Man. The reboot craze has hit fever pitch, and the silver screen seems crowded with retellings of old favorites. But what exactly goes into a reboot, and how is it different from a remake?

Reboot's and remakes have some basic common ground -- namely, both types of film use themes, characters, or settings from an older story in an updated narrative. However, while a remake tends to stick closely to character and plot, a reboot mixes things up by changing the plot, adding new characters, and generally telling a different story.

Tim Burton's Batman films are an interesting case of a film series that was rebooted before the term was in popular use. The 1966 film adaptation of the Adam West television show is famous for its camp and humor. Burton's 1989 reboot of the film keeps the camp but substitutes drama for humor and focuses on the intensely visual world Burton designed. The series was rebooted again in 2005 with Batman Begins, which departed from the previous efforts by creating a more conventional drama that focused on the character of Bruce Wayne. Both reboots show an interesting trend when it comes to rehashing older films -- namely, reboots tend to be made with the goal of creating a franchise. Unlike remakes, which often change their title and simply reference the original, reboots are designed to capitalize on an already successful production and continue that success through a series of films. The Amazing Spider-Man and its upcoming sequel are a big draw for fans of the previous Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, a franchise that was itself only a decade old when The Amazing Spider-Man was released.

So, if you are watching a movie that plays off an older, successful title but doesnt use much else besides a few characters, you are probably watching a reboot. Particularly if the film ends up spawning a sequel or three!