The List!!!: Five Classic Reboots

In The List!!!, I do a list that just reeks of being click-bait, analyzing a particular topic or subject that pertains to something major occurring in pop-culture. This week, in honor of Dawn of The Planet of The Apes, a sequel to a reboot, I look at five classic reboots

In the internet community, the word reboot is as filthy as a towel used by Jabba The Hutt. Surely, all a reboot brings is the tarnishing of the original movies, while only serving as a cynical cash-grab. In reality, reboots vary in quality, but they hardly ever do damage to the beloved original movies (which must not have been that beloved if all it took to ruin its reputation was a poorly made reboot) and in fact, several reboots have turned out to be fantastic movies themselves. Here are five particular reboots that, in my opinion, aren't just good reboots, but great films.

Rise of The Planet of The Apes- The sequel to this movie is the one who inspired this article, since when I think of quality reboots, Rise of The Planet of The Apes is what my mind instantly darts to. This was supposed to be some kind of joke, a prime example of Hollywoods desire to reboot and sequelize everything. Instead, it told a compelling story that emphasized well developed characters over all else.

Batman Begins: I'm disappointed that when conversations over The Dark Knight Trilogy begin that Batman Begins is usually left out of the talk. Sure, it's not quite as good as The Dark Knight, but guys, Batman Begins is actually a stupendously crafted movie that really captivated many audience members (myself heartily included!). True, it nicely set up ground for forthcoming sequels that raised the bar, but Batman Begins still managed to be a great movie on its own merits.

Godzilla: All the fanboy whining about how Godzilla isn't in the movie enough has taken up so much of the conversation about Godzilla, I feel the movie hasn't gotten its proper due as one of the years more excellent features. Oh sure, the action is awesome (Godzilla himself is such a treat to watch here) and Bryan Cranston is riveting, but I just love the atmosphere of dread the film beautifully depicts. Danger hangs around every ominous corner, and that's frightening enough even without the physical presence of giant beasts.

Star Trek: J.J. Abrams has become such a whipping boy for internet whiners (Seriously guys, is there anything you people like?) that it's almost good for the Star Trek and it's sequel that people have forgotten how amazing it is. For you see, when they go in, expecting some cinematic travesty, they'll be blown away by how terrific Abrams depiction of Kirk and his crew really is. This coming-of-age story, told against the backdrop of one of the greatest fictional universes of all-time, remains a fantastic adventure despite the onslaught of criticism.

Spider-Man: I actually wasn't sure if Tobey Maguires first portrayal of the web-crawler counted as a proper reboot since the film it was rebooting was only released as a proper movie overseas (thanks Wikipedia!) But since IMDB classifies it as such, than I elatedly put it on this list. Like Batman Begins, this first Spider adventure sometimes gets overshadowed by its sequel, even though the first movie is still a brilliant piece of cinema, if only for the "spectacular" way Tobey Maguire brings Peter Parker to life. Oh, and did I mention Willem Dafoe chewing up the scenery as the Green Goblin?