The 10 Best Remakes of the Last 10 Years

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Two perspectives exist regarding the concept of remakes. One viewpoint argues that remakes serve as an opportunity to revisit established intellectual properties (IPs), identify titles with some recognition, refine them, and then offer them again to viewers, often for multiple iterations.

In the viewpoint of another perspective, film remakes can be seen as similar to a fresh staging of an old theater play. Just like a classic Shakespearean story from centuries past might speak to current audiences in novel ways, so could a newly made movie about, for instance, the struggle over a desert planet abundant in psychedelic resources yet scarce in essentials like water, provide modern screenwriters with fresh narrative possibilities. (Again, this is purely hypothetical and bears no resemblance to any real-life films.)

In other words, these ten movies I’ve selected as the top remakes from the past decade fall under the category where both versions can be considered valid, depending on the specific situations and the creative choices made by the filmmakers for their particular reimagining.

While it’s technically feasible for us to compile a reverse version of this list, what we’re emphasizing is that remakes shouldn’t be automatically discarded without being properly evaluated. Just like any other type of movie, they should be judged based on their individual qualities, and the ten films on this list certainly have many strengths.

The 10 Best Remakes of the Last 10 Years (2016-2025)

10. Road House (2024)

The movie “Road House” gained cult status due to its entertaining nature when broadcast on cable. Regardless of when you tuned in, the film offered excitement, violence, sex appeal, and humor, whether intentional or not. Even if you started or stopped watching it at random points, you were always in for a treat. The movie’s cable TV era seems to be fading, but a “Road House” remake would have flourished in that environment. It is the kind of film you could enjoy repeatedly without ever intentionally rewatching it twice. By the end, it creates an ambiance similar to a legendary bar – a place not so much for getting drunk as for enjoying the music and the company of the regulars. With a dedicated performance by Jake Gyllenhaal and a clever update of the story about a tough bouncer, the remake is far superior to what one might expect given its premise.

9. The Killer (2024)

This particular adaptation of “The Killer” doesn’t offer anything fresh – not the director included – but given the scarcity of authentic gritty thrillers in Hollywood nowadays, it still feels refreshing. The world didn’t ask for another remake of “The Killer,” and it might have felt like defiling a masterpiece if someone other than John Woo had directed it. However, with Woo at the helm, the material breathes new life once more. I may not crave seeing another artist’s interpretation of the “Mona Lisa,” but if you told me they found another “Mona Lisa” that da Vinci painted decades later, I’d likely be intrigued and want to take a peek at it.

8. The Beguiled (2017)

In “The Beguiled,” Colin Farrell took on a challenging role, being the solitary man in a home filled with women, a part once brilliantly portrayed by Clint Eastwood. However, Farrell surpassed his predecessor with a cunning and charming portrayal. His Corporal McBurney is a different character to each woman in that house; a big brother figure to Amy (Oona Laurence), a rebellious heartthrob to Alicia (Elle Fanning), a potential husband and escape route for Edwina (Kirsten Dunst, who also delivered an outstanding performance among the stellar cast). He’s a wolf disguised as a chameleon, making him a perfect antagonist for today’s times – which is exactly why it was worth modernizing a film like “The Beguiled.

7. It (2017)

In a different wording:

The original IT TV miniseries is undeniably scary, but Andy Muschietti’s IT surpasses it in terms of pure terror. This is largely due to Bill Skarsgård’s chilling portrayal of Pennywise. The period production design, an impressive ensemble cast comprising Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, and Sophia Lillis, and the decision to divide the massive novel into two parts contribute significantly to making this one of the finest Stephen King adaptations. However, the sequel, IT Chapter Two, fell short of expectations.

While the original IT miniseries is frightening, the 2017 IT movie directed by Andy Muschietti is even more terrifying due to a fantastic monster portrayal by Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. The film’s historical setting, talented young actors like Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, and Sophia Lillis, and the decision to split the story into two parts make it one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work. Unfortunately, its sequel, IT Chapter Two, did not live up to expectations.

6. A Star Is Born (2018)

The film “A Star Is Born” has been remade three times, and each version offers its unique charm. However, the 2018 rendition, featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s electrifying performances and memorable tunes, might just be the best yet. This iteration, which Cooper co-wrote and directed, tells the tale of a veteran country rocker who finds new life in his romance with an unknown musical prodigy (Lady Gaga). Yet, as her stardom ascends, his own world crumbles. It seems that tales of fame, extravagance, and heartbreaking love continue to resonate.

5. Nosferatu (2024)

In yet another demonstration of his prowess, Robert Eggers has solidified his position as the contemporary grandmaster of classic horror. His 2024 remake of the 1922 German silent horror film “Nosferatu” is not a mere update but a bold enhancement, infusing it with even more elements: More gory visuals, more vivid symbolism, and more (indeed, any) distressing sound effects. (Imagine the spine-chilling sounds Count Orlock – a grotesquely terrifying Bill Skarsgård, known for his remarkable performances in horror remakes – makes as he consumes his victims with an eerie silence reminiscent of a Capri-Sun pouch.)

4. Suspiria (2018)

In Luca Guadagnino’s remake of the movie “Suspiria”, there were moments when it seemed a tad overly complex (it felt like everyone involved was trying to keep secret that Tilda Swinton was playing multiple roles). However, this film is exactly what you hope for in a remake of a classic. It doesn’t just copy the original film shot by shot or line by line, but instead pays homage to its ideas while offering unexpected twists. Even if you’re familiar with Dario Argento’s “Suspiria”, Guadagnino’s version, featuring Dakota Johnson and various Tilda Swintons, is filled with delightful surprises.

3. West Side Story (2021)

In nearly every aspect, Steven Spielberg’s version of “West Side Story” surpasses the 1961 film adaptation of Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents’ musical: The acting is more powerful, the selection of actors is superior, the script is more refined, and the social critique is more incisive. With stunning choreography and a dishearteningly relevant theme, Spielberg has crafted a musical that seems to mirror modern times rather than 1950s New York City – far from Renaissance Verona.

2. Little Women (2019)

Greta Gerwig’s second self-directed project solidified the fact that Lady Bird was no mere fluke. Her adaptation of Little Women may well go down as one of the finest film adaptations in recent history; Gerwig masterfully paid homage to Alcott’s cherished story while employing a unique narrative structure that seamlessly weaves forward and backward in time, amplifying its emotional resonance. In the next 20 years, audiences will marvel at the remarkable ensemble cast – Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Meryl Streep, Bryan Cranston, Zachary Quinto, and Laura Dern – and question how Gerwig managed to assemble such a formidable team. The answer lies in the appeal of working with her, an appeal that’s clearly justified given her exceptional talent as a filmmaker. She is already among our most gifted working directors today.

1. Dune (2021)

Reading just half of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic “Dune” under Denis Villeneuve’s masterful direction was all it took to turn me into a die-hard fan. The film’s grandeur and vision mirrored the unique charm that book enthusiasts have always highlighted (something largely missing in David Lynch’s adaptation). For the first time, I comprehended why so many readers became captivated by this story. Villeneuve took on a novel that has been challenging for numerous filmmakers and transformed it into a coherent, visually stunning, and powerfully desert-imbued masterpiece.

12 Marvel Movies You Forgot Existed

Captain America (1944)

For approximately 40 years, only Captain America from Marvel Comics was featured in a movie adaptation, starting with his own serial in 1944. Interestingly, this early version of Captain America was not Steve Rogers but rather Grant Gardner, a dedicated district attorney. No reference is made to his well-known origin story involving the Super-Soldier Serum, and he doesn’t utilize an indestructible shield. Instead, Captain America battles “The Scarab,” a typical 1940s villain seeking high-tech plot devices known as MacGuffins. One of these is a “thermodynamic vibration engine” capable of causing skyscrapers to fall – or as the characters frequently refer to it, a vibrator. Yes, you read that correctly: they’re talking about a device called a vibrator.

In this context, a “vibrator” refers to the thermodynamic vibration engine, not a personal device commonly used for relaxation or sexual pleasure.

Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978)

In the 1970s, episodes from the live-action Spider-Man TV series were compiled and presented as movies. These films were screened in theaters abroad and later released on VHS tapes at the dawn of home video. One of these quickie films is titled “Spider-Man Strikes Back,” which is the second installment among three. In this movie, Spidey attempts to retrieve stolen plutonium from a group of arrogant graduate students who aim to demonstrate their ability to create and detonate a nuclear bomb. While it might be considered unnecessary, I still appreciate the ending where Spidey battles villains in an old Western town, presumably due to easy access to a film set.

Dr. Strange (1978)

In the years preceding Benedict Cumberbatch’s encounter with Dormammu, CBS, which was already broadcasting a Spider-Man series and an acclaimed Incredible Hulk TV show, attempted to launch a Dr. Strange series. They commissioned a pilot starring Peter Hooten as a psychiatrist Strange, distinct from the surgeon character we know, who assumes the role of the Sorcerer Supreme in this version, which required him to wear more necklaces than Mr. T. The pilot film failed to succeed, and a Dr. Strange series never came to fruition. However, several years later, the pilot was released on VHS, marking the first home video release of a Dr. Strange movie.

Captain America (1979)

Indeed, it might be hard to accept, but that figure is intended to represent Captain America. This questionable blend of fashion and comic book lore emerged in a 1979 CBS movie where Steve Rogers (played by Reb Brown) underwent transformation into a hero using a “super-steroid” and created his own suit. This version of Cap was often seen cruising on a motorcycle, which explained the oversized bike helmet he wore. Unfortunately, even before you saw what lay beneath the helmet, this guy seemed ridiculous in his patriotic bodysuit with red and white stripes running down the sides, resembling a man dressed in a blue turtleneck under a vest made of the American flag. To add to the absurdity, the normally solid white segments of Cap’s indestructible shield were transparent—as the shield also served as his motorcycle windshield. When Captain America received a sequel film the following year titled “Captain America II: Death Too Soon,” his costume was revamped to resemble the classic Jack Kirby design (with the large motorcycle helmet still intact), but by then, the harm had already been done.
In other words, this Captain America’s appearance and costumes were widely criticized as being far from the traditional look of the character, leaving many fans disappointed.

Howard the Duck (1986)

As a child, the movie “Howard the Duck” had a severely negative image due to several factors. Firstly, it was the first film adaptation of a Marvel comic, which already set high expectations among hardcore fans who didn’t appreciate the final product. Secondly, it was these same fans who contributed significantly to its initially poor reputation. Over time, though, as more Marvel movies have been released, “Howard the Duck” seems less infamous and its flaws seem less personal. However, let’s not forget that it still retains an unusual charm – just remember that scene of a human falling in love with a duck!

The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)

Approximately five years following the end of the original run of “The Incredible Hulk” TV series, it was reborn as a trilogy of TV films. These films were later made available for home viewing. Children from that era may not have seen “The Incredible Hulk” on CBS, but they could rent “The Incredible Hulk Returns”, “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk”, and “The Death of the Incredible Hulk” on VHS. While these films are largely forgotten today, “The Trial of the Incredible Hulk” is notable for being the live-action TV debut of Daredevil, portrayed by Rex Smith. Additionally, John Rhys-Davies, known for his work in “Indiana Jones”, played the Kingpin! Unfortunately, Daredevil’s costume in the film deviated from its comic book counterpart. However, it remains an intriguing artifact of a period when big-screen Marvel movies were merely a vision in Stan Lee’s mind.

Captain America (1990)

The 1990 version of Captain America, produced on a modest budget, exhibits a unique brand of naivety – the type where a scene of the White House is labeled “WHITE HOUSE – WASHINGTON D.C.” without a trace of sarcasm, and later an identical shot simply reads “WASHINGTON D.C.”. The initial scenes set in the 1930s are acceptable, aligning more with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America than one might anticipate. However, as Captain America wakes up in the early 1990s, the quality plummets dramatically, reaching the cheapest and most synthesized musical score imaginable. Matt Salinger’s Captain America costume looks decent for its time, but he seldom dons it, instead spending an unusual amount of the film stealing cars by feigning sickness, then seizing control when the car’s occupant steps out to check on him.

Generation X (1996)

On Saturday mornings, “X-Men: The Animated Series” was airing on Fox. In an attempt to gauge if Marvel’s mutants could handle a prime-time spot, they decided to create a live-action spinoff of “Generation X”. This comic series was essentially a modernized version of “The New Mutants”, featuring veteran X-Men characters like Banshee and Emma Frost training a new group of mutant trainees. Both these characters appeared in this TV movie, along with Jubilee, Skin, and Mondo. However, other beloved Generation X characters such as Chamber were omitted because their complex powers would have been too expensive to incorporate, and they were replaced by newly invented mutants for the show like “Refrax”. Unfortunately, the pilot didn’t perform well in ratings, leading to the permanent cancellation of “Generation X”.

Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998)

Swap out Samuel L. Jackson with David Hasselhoff, as he once starred in a TV movie playing Marvel’s super-spy. Contrasting greatly with the high-budget spectacles of today featuring Jackson’s Nick Fury, this TV movie – titled Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. – was incredibly economical. The special effects (used very loosely here) resemble unfinished video game graphics. Actress Sandra Hess portrays the villainous Viper with a German accent so implausible it makes Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat sound like an authentic Kazakh. The storyline involves global escapades as Fury and his team frantically race to prevent the release of a lethal new virus, but regardless of their destination (Berlin, New York, etc.), they seem to always end up in the same dilapidated factory filled with dimly-lit catwalks and shadowy hallways. To label this production as low-rent is an insult to moderately priced housing.

Man-Thing (2005)

The character Man-Thing, who is mute and made of swamp sludge, takes an unusual lead role in the movie. He doesn’t speak and is composed of sentient swamp matter. In the comics, Man-Thing is known for causing burns when people touch him out of fear. Due to these unique characteristics, Man-Thing only appears sparingly in the “Man-Thing” film. The majority of this movie focuses on a sheriff investigating a series of murders occurring in the swamplands. Although initially intended for a theatrical release, the quality was not satisfactory, and Marvel opted to distribute it directly through cable. The film premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel in 2005.

Inhumans (2017)

In simpler terms, “Inhumans,” although produced by Marvel and IMAX, is considered one of the least favorite additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to its television miniseries format. The first two episodes were exclusively released in IMAX theaters, which didn’t bring in much revenue because audiences expected a big-screen spectacle from Marvel but got a high-budget TV series instead. The show was also criticized for being quite dull. Despite Anson Mount reprising his role as Black Bolt in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the profile of “Inhumans” didn’t see significant improvement.

Men in Black International (2019)

fundamentally, the film “Men in Black” is originated from an individual comic series that later became part of a smaller independent company named Malibu Comics. This company was eventually acquired by Marvel in 1994. As such, “Men in Black” represents one of the pioneering movies in the comic-book genre during the late ’90s, fueled by technological advancements in digital effects. The original “Men in Black”, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, remains a popular memory, along with its two direct sequels. Contrastingly, the recent reboot attempt has not fared as well, especially when compared to the 2019 version that stars Chris Hemsworth from “Thor” and Tessa Thompson.

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2025-07-23 22:28