A movie reboot is a lot like getting back together with an ex-girlfriend -- you know the story, you've seen it before, but for some reason there's something in the back of your mind that says, "This time it will work out."

The word reboot gets tossed around Hollywood too easily. It's like the Rubik’s Cube in the eighties, everyone wants one because they see tremendous box office potential, but once you sign one you still have to figure out how to make it work. There are many facets to a reboot. The first being, will the audience feel ripped off since they probably just saw a similar movie a few years ago, then there’s casting (go with the old or start brand new), story (origin again or new idea) and definition.

The hardest part is defining the word. Reboot. What is a reboot? How much time has to have passed before we are simply calling the film a remake and not a reboot? What if a lot of time has passed but we picked up where the last story ended? Is that a reboot?



I think the safest meaning of the word is if you use the same character with a different actor in a film that is within a close time frame to the last one but disregard the narrative of that character that was previously filmed, then you have a reboot. For instance, Terminator Salvation had a new actor (Christian Bale, doesn't he just make every film and on set eruption better) but stayed true to the Terminator legend. It continued the story where the last one left off (of course when you're dealing with time travel this is much easier to pull off).

The Incredible Hulk is a tricky case. Ang Lee's Hulk of 2003 was more of an origin story, while Louis Leterrier's Incredible Hulk of 2008 changed actors, came out five years after the last one and never really tipped its hat the previous one. But, it also picked up after the Hulk's origin story. So it wasn't exactly a sequel because it never acknowledged Lee's film, it was more of a reboot because it was trying to reinvent the Hulk story.

There's been talk of a new Daredevil coming soon to be directed by David Slade of Twilight: Eclipse. The first one was not an origin story, so if they cast new actors, don't pick up where the last one left off and come out in the next few years, it's definitely considered a reboot. Same with the new Superman that Zack Snyder is set to start directing.

When Chris Nolan began directing Batman movies, that was a reboot. When Harald Zwart made The Karate Kid, that was a reboot (because I still remember seeing the first one in the theater). Even JJ Abrams’ Star Trek was a reboot since the last film before his came out in 2002.



What about James Bond? Are they rebooting the franchise every time they launch with a new actor? If they are erasing what came before them, then yes.

Personally, I like reboots. Most reboots tend to happen with sci-fi or comic book movies. And the one thing I hate about comic book movies is the origin story. I read tons of comic books growing up and I know all the origin stories. I hate being bored with how and why they became superheroes, I want to see them kicking butt as superheroes. So when Hulk bypassed the first film and launched right into him fighting Abomination in the second, I was happy.

I realize the only reason to reboot a franchise is if the last film failed but you feel the source material is still a moneymaker. It all comes down to dollars. Can the studio make money by rebooting the franchise? If yes, then they don't really care if you think the new film is coming out too close to the last one. And they know if the rebooted movie is good, you'll show up and pay to see it even though you saw a similar one a few years ago.

Every film is fair game for a reboot, no matter how classic or recent it might be. The one film I'm waiting to see rebooted? Gone With the Wind. Before you laugh consider this. No one aged 40 or over has seen this movie unless they watched it in a film class in college, but everyone has heard of the movie. It's a classic story with a sweeping vision, and since it's a reboot who says you have to set it during the Civil War?

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