When I heard that ‘WarGames’ was being rebooted, I of course rolled my eyes. But director Dean Israelite (‘Project Almanac‘) is giving some compelling ideas on why a reboot isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With a director that only has one feature length film under his belt, I’ll let you be the judge as to how you feel about his plans.
While Israelite has a few films in the works he says that:
“We’ve been developing the script, and I think it’s an exciting project. If there’s ever a reason to remake a movie, it’s WarGames. If there was ever a movie primed to say something new and bold and relevant for our time, its WarGames. So that’s why I see the potential in remaking the movie”
Anyone familiar with the classic 1983 ‘WarGames,’ which was directed by John Badham and starred Matthew Broderick as a young hacker, knows that much of its material is quite dated. With war an ongoing fact of life around the world, the rise of digital warfare, a huge military complex in position, and the potential for a second Cold War stronger than ever, the film has a chance to be socially relevant and include quite a bit of social commentary.
There is potential here.
I also do have to point out that I completely agree with one very large opinion which Israelite has:
“Always very skeptical of remakes, because the story’s already been told. With this particular title, I feel it’s primed to say something new.”
I can see that. As I mentioned above, there is a lot of things going on in the world today that a movie like this could touch upon. Thankfully, he wouldn’t be shooting it in the same style as ‘Project Almanac’:
“It definitely won’t be the found footage style, and it probably won’t be as handheld. I haven’t figured out fully the stylistic approach, but absolutely the film will have to feel immediate, intimate, energetic, and have a kind of teenage youthfulness to it.
That will influence the energy of the photography, and I think it will have to feel unflinchingly real, because we’re going to be dealing with the technology we interact with every day, and the consequences of that, and so I think that world is going to have to feel completely real for it to feel relevant to everyone in the audience.”
If he did this one as a found footage I’d be back to my usual anti-reboot vigor before he even begun. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt though. However, it is still a reboot.
What do you think about a reboot of ‘WarGames’? From all the new technology and the way the world has changed since the early 1980’s would you be interested in a new version of the film? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Den of Geek
