13 Remakes of Iconic Movies That Sparked Discussion and Mixed Reviews

Many film directors dream of producing a spectacular remake that will excite the hearts of viewers no less than the original movie. However, many people tend to be skeptical about the remakes of their favorite films, trying to find all possible shortcomings of the new version.

Sabrina

Sabrina is a modern Cinderella story about an inconspicuous girl who becomes beautiful and captivates every man around her. Audrey Hepburn starred in the movie in 1954, and in 1995, the lead character was played by Julia Ormond.

• Rating of the original — 7.6
• Rating of the remake — 6.3

Nathalie... and Chloe

This is a sophisticated movie about betrayal. It explores the idea of what a woman can do if she suspects her husband is being unfaithful. In the French original from 2000, which was called Nathalie..., the splendid duet was played by Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Béart. Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried starred in the American remake, Chloe, in 2009.

• Rating of the original — 6.3
• Rating of the remake — 6.3

Nikita and La Femme Nikita

Nikita is the story of a young criminal who is recruited and trained to become a highly skilled, untraceable professional assassin. In 1990, Nikita was played by Anne Parillaud, and in 1997, she was portrayed by Peta Wilson.

• Rating of the original — 7.3
• Rating of the remake — 7.4

The Parent Trap

In this classic, identical twins who were separated at birth and raised by one of their biological parents later discover each other for the first time at summer camp and make a plan to bring their wayward parents back together. The parts of both sisters were played by Hayley Mills in 1961, and by Lindsay Lohan in 1998.

• Rating of the original — 7.2
• Rating of the remake — 6.6

West Side Story

This musical film is based on the story of Romeo and Juliet. 2 youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends lead the pair to tragedy.

• Rating of the original — 7.6
• Rating of the remake — 7.2

The Thomas Crown Affair

This is a story about millionaire Thomas Crown and his ingenious heist. He is sure that he can get away with it, but he must overcome an alluring insurance investigator who threatens to uncover his scheme. Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway starred in the movie in 1968. And in the 1999 remake, the main characters were played by Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.

• Rating of the original — 6.9
• Rating of the remake — 6.8

Plein Soleil and The Talented Mr. Ripley

A huge bank account, influential friends, a yacht, and the beautiful sea — the rich heir, Greenleaf, has it all, and the young Ripley desperately wants it too. Greenleaf can’t even imagine what his new friend could do to make Greenleaf’s life his own. Alain Delon starred in the original screen adaptation (1960) of the Patricia Highsmith novel. In 1999, the talented Ripley was played by Matt Damon.

• Rating of the original — 7.7
• Rating of the remake — 7.4

Il Mare and The Lake House

In this time travelling love story, two characters, each living in different years, exchange letters through a magical mailbox. In the South Korean version of the film, the main parts were acted by Lee Jung-jae and Jun Ji-hyun. In the Hollywood remake, it was Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock who appeared on-screen.

• Rating of the original — 7.5
• Rating of the remake — 6.8

Dirty Dancing and the Dirty Dancing TV series

Dirty Dancing is a romantic drama where everything is perfect, from the actors to the music to the plot twists. The memorable pair from the 1987 film was played by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. A year later, a series of the same name was released on TV and starred Patrick Cassidy and Melora Hardin.

• Rating of the original — 7.0
• Rating of the remake — 5.7

Angélique

The famed French Angélique series by Sergeanne Golon was adapted for the screen by 2 different film directors. In the movie from the 1960s, the beautiful heroine was played by Michèle Mercier. In 2013, a more feminist version of the movie was produced. In this version, the character of Angélique was played by Nora Arnezeder.

• Rating of the original — 6.7
• Rating of the remake — 6.1

Overboard

The film Overboard, starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, was so beloved by the public that remakes were made of it more than once. These were released in India, Switzerland, South Korea, and other countries. One of the most recent such works is the 2018 film starring Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris.

The new version was much less liked by the public than the original. Unlike the iconic 1987 film, critics saw this one as a pathetic parody: “Overboard makes poor use of the ever-charming Anna Faris — and chooses questionable source material — to offer a remake that fails to clear the fairly low bar set by the original.”

• Rating of the original — 6.9
• Rating of the remake — 6.0

A Star Is Born

The 1937 drama A Star Is Born was so successful that it was called one of the best films of that year. Not surprisingly, it has been remade many times. The most successful version was the 2018 film starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.

Judging by responses from the audience and the number of nominations the film received for various awards, the remake turned out even cooler than the original. Thanks to this movie, Lady Gaga became the first woman in history to win an Oscar, a Grammy, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award in just one year.

• Rating of the original — 7.3
• Rating of the remake — 7.6

Anthony Zimmer and Tourist

The story of a man who changed his appearance through plastic surgery to hide from the police was first filmed by Jérôme Salle in 2005. That movie, starring Sophie Marceau and Yvan Attal, received superb reviews and was a box-office success.

Five years later, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck decided to repeat the success of his colleague. He invited Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp to star in his version of this story. However, in spite of the high-profile cast, the film failed. The remake was not to the liking of either the critics or the audience.

• Rating of the original — 6.5
• Rating of the remake — 6.0