17 Movie Remakes to Stream That Are Better Than the Original

The original 1973 “The Crazies,” written and directed by B-movie horror legend George A. Romero, is about a small town whose residents either die or become homicidal maniacs after accidentally being exposed to a biological weapon. It bombed but has since become a cult favorite. The 2010 remake of the same name has the same plot and stars Timothy Olyphant, and even though it wasn’t a huge hit, it was praised for being cleverer, tenser, and more action-filled than the original.

The basic plot of “Freaky Friday” is one of the simplest and most iconic in film history: a mother and her daughter somehow switch bodies, and gain a new understanding of each other’s lives. The 1976 original, a classic in its own right, stars Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster as the mother-daughter duo, and the 2003 remake starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Lohan’s and Curtis’ performances were especially well-reviewed, especially that of Curtis, who gives a comedic tour de force playing a teenager.

2004’s Denzel Washington-starring “Man on Fire” is a remake of the 1987 film of the same name starring Scott Glenn, which in turn was based on the 1980 A.J. Quinnell novel of the same name. The original film takes place in Italy, but the remake moves the action to Mexico City, where a former CIA agent-turned-bodyguard played by Washington attempts to track down the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy businessman. It performed well at the box office and was Quinnell’s preferred adaptation.

The original “The Kindergarten Teacher” was released in Israel in 2004, and was well-reviewed enough that it was remade four years later in the U.S. with star Maggie Gyllenhaal. Both films are about a disaffected kindergarten teacher who goes to great lengths to protect the talents of an especially gifted student. The film, and Gyllenhaal’s performance specifically, received high praise.

1977’s “Pete’s Dragon” is a Disney live action/animation hybrid musical fantasy in which a lighthouse keeper’s daughter befriends a runaway orphan and his pet dragon. While critics appreciated its premise, it has largely been relegated to the Disney dustbin due to its excessive length, sluggish pacing, and tired formula. The 2016 remake did away with the music and turned it into a drama about the boy’s discovery of the dragon and its repercussions, and was praised as one of the year’s best, most soulful movies.