30 Best Movie Remakes (and Reboots) of the Past 30 Years
Hollywood may be in love with remakes, but critics don't usually share those warm feelings. Nevertheless, revisiting an old property can sometimes prove fruitful, and not just commercially. In the gallery above, you'll find the best-reviewed remakes and franchise reboots of the past three decades, ranked by Metascore. (Note that a movie must have at least 7 reviews from professional critics to be eligible.)
Original: ▣ Casino Royale (1967), directed by Val Guest, Kenneth Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath, and Robert Parrish
The film rights to Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel were sold off prior to the formation of Eon Productions, which would control the remainder of the series. They ultimately fell to producer Charles K. Feldman, who turned the book into a bawdy spy spoof with individual segments featuring different directors, writers, and stars (including David Niven as James Bond, Woody Allen—improbably—as his nephew Jimmy Bond, and Peter Sellers as Bond stand-in Evelyn Tremble).
A more proper take on Casino Royale was released in 2006 as the 21st film in Eon's ongoing series. Martin Campbell's film served as a series reboot as well, introducing Daniel Craig as a far more serious though less experienced Bond.
Royale is actually one of two remakes in the 007 series. Thunderball was remade 18 years later as the non-Eon production Never Say Never Again, with Sean Connery returning to play Bond for the first time since 1971.