As much as I would love to agree with you, especially how seamless some special effects can be in movies when done well or done right (even more so by some small indie studios who are able to produce some great effects in movies, like Sputnik), I would hate to see a remake of this movie made in [current year].
I love the themes and the concept of the film, and for it's time it was executed -- as you said -- very much in the vein of films like Primer, Cube, Sleep Dealer, Code 46, or Fermat's Room.
It wasn't low budget enough to distract me from the concepts and storytelling, but I could definitely see how a larger budget with someone like Matt Damon or Edward Norton in the lead role could make for a compelling remake.
Unfortunately, I imagine a remake of this film would consist of the straight, white male lead being upended for someone like Diane Kruger or Evan Rachel Wood, and Lucy Liu's role would stay the same, but a younger Asian woman would be cast in her place, probably someone either relatively unknown or someone annoying like Awkwafina. Cue the lesbian romance.
The entire corporate espionage plot would also be turned into a moral pounding over the head about the evils of capitalism and corporatacracies (even though corporatacracies are bad), and somehow they will infer through the subtext how Communism is good.
I literally can't imagine how a movie as complex, layered, and intelligent as Cypher would be handled well by today's hack writers and production studios, especially if Netflix got a hold of it.
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bertnernie (43)
3 years ago
I won't disagree with any points, honestly. Your take of what a true remake would look like by the film industry today is not at all my ideal remake, but yours would be the most realistic and I won't deny that would be the more probable outcome.
When I was thinking of a remake I more envisioned Blade Runner 2049 that finds a cinematic way to add to the lore/world - brings something to the table along with it - but what we would most likely get is a Ghostbusters reboot - a changeup just for the sake of doing it and a "remember this".
Instead of a graphics update and plot clean-up, we would get a "spin" along with it. You're probably right with how roles would be cast or re-envisioned. It's likely the movie's best aspect of a corporate espionage type of spy drama and intrigue, would be lost exactly for a more summary tale on greed or something of that nature.
I thought of what a remake could look like. It wouldn't, but it could.
Cheers
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cyguration (3894)
3 years ago
When I was thinking of a remake I more envisioned Blade Runner 2049 that finds a cinematic way to add to the lore/world - brings something to the table along with it - but what we would most likely get is a Ghostbusters reboot - a changeup just for the sake of doing it and a "remember this".
Yeah that's actually a really good comparison of what I would have loved to have seen as well from a remake. More exploration into the worldbuilding and technology would be pretty awesome. And in the hands of a visionary director, like Darren Aronofsky, Denis Villeneuve, or Ang Lee, it could easily become an instant all-time classic.
I thought of what a remake could look like. It wouldn't, but it could.
A shame about the times we live in, eh?
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