Which Film is Better: Reboots

[SPS]

I used to do these threads all the time but I figured it would be a good time to relaunch the threads so this time the topic is:

Franchise Reboots

This is a popular phrase these days with the Batman series being amazingly popular and the new Star Trek last year, and a new A-Team this year, and Predator, and so on and so forth, so we are going to go with three films that relaunched the franchises of three popular properties:

Batman Begins
Vs.
Casino Royale
Vs.
Star Trek (2009)

So which reboot is the best? Why do you think so?

[Hand-E-Food]

Reboot the Reboot thread! ;D

Batman Begins: I didn't mind it. The Dark Knight was far better. Batman Begins certainly had it's merits, but for me it's forgettable.

Casino Royale: Aside from an impressive free-running scene, this movie was a waste of time.

J.J. Abrahm's Star Trek: I enjoyed this a lot. I particularly like how they excused rebooting the series by starting a parallel universe.

So out of those three, the Batman franchise is certainly my favourite due to The Dark Knight. The Star Trek franchise has the best first episode, but we'll have to see how the series pans out.

EDIT: And I'm not wasting time watching any more Bond movies. Casino Royale was poor and long and Quantum of Solace was simultaneously convoluted and empty.

[Elliot Kane]

I'm going to have to say Star Trek. Much as I loved the Batman reboot, Star Trek gave me a very real sense that I was seeing the rebirth of a legend rather than just a really good version of a character.

Never saw CR, so I'll pass on that.

[Gray Lensman]

You know, I'm really not sure. I liked all of those films, and they were all successful reboots.

Part of me wants to say Batman Begins, if only because it led to The Dark Knight, which is one of my favorite superhero movies, and it left behind the disaster of the Schumacher era. On the other hand, Abrams' Star Trek both brought back a sense of wonder and possibility to the Trekverse and revived the franchise after it was ruined by Voyager, so they're about on par in that respect.

... So I guess "too close to call" is my answer for now.

[SPS]

This is really tough as I was never a fan of James Bond or classic Trek before seeing these films but we'll go with the one that actually made me go back to the classics and watch them, and I mean all of them and that is Star Trek.

Trek was different enough from the originals but also had the core of most of the characters down. Plus it had the best opening of any film I've seen in a very very long time. It was a mini-movie just in itself, and made you care about Kirk's father before they cruelly tore him away from us.

The villain was a bit one dimensional but in all 3 of these films the villains were kind of forgettable. But still Nero gets bonus points for actually taking out one of the character's homeworld, and nearly destroying Earth.

Like I mentioned earlier I went back and watched all 11 Star Trek films and about a third of the original series after I saw this film. So that's why it gets it. Begins didn't make me want to watch the Tim Burton films, and Casino Royale didn't make me want to watch any Bond film past the last Sean Connery film. That's why Star Trek gets the win for me.

[Flix]

As a reboot per se, the new Batman stuff wins easily. The dark knight was in dire need of a rebirth- I didn't find anything beyond the 90's animated series watchable at all.

But judged overall, Star Trek wins. The franchise was not in need of a reboot, having the original series, TNG, and most of the movies as a solid offering. However, unnecessary as it was, it was just a great movie that honored the original and kicked ass in its own right.

I can't speak to James Bond. Not a fan.

[killerzzz]

Ugg, see I'm so conflicted here.

Batman: I enjoyed about 2 of the previous 4 movies, and Batman Begins was well done though it didn't pull me in too much. The Dark Knight though was beyond epic. So...

Casino Royale: I'm a BIG fan of the oldies, have watched them all several times and plan to buy the DVD collections of them when they get cheaper. That said, Casino Royale was ok. Better, in some ways, than some of the Brosnan 007 movies, but worse in other ways. Quantum of Solace, same deal. So...

Star Trek: I've seen about 2.5 episodes total of any sort of Star Trek, but this was extremely well done as a movie. Just enjoyable and engaging even for me, a guy who knows next to nothing about Star Trek. So...


I'm going to decide without considering the sequels, since we are talking about the "Reboot Movie" itself.

Enjoyment level: probably a tie between Casino Royale and Star Trek. However, I'm biased toward 007.

Objective analysis, looks like Star Trek wins, followed by Batman Begins.

Star Trek's only problem was its villain, who didn't have much going for him. Honestly, I even found Casino Royale's villain to be much more memorable than Star Trek's. Heck, I keep forgetting he exists. But, everything else about Star Trek was just plain great. A really enjoyable Sci-Fi movie.

Batman Begins was an interesting take on Batman (compared to the others) and also really well done. I liked the psychological and serious focus it had (compared to goofy/supernatural). However, for some reason, though I appreciated it, it didn't stick in my mind as awesome (like the Dark Knight did - I keep forgetting about Batman Begins ).

Casino Royale. Boy... Here's the thing. I could totally dig it as an action movie. I found it cool, and yes, I even enjoyed the slow parts. Biased? Maybe, but I like to think that I'm giving it a fair look here. Because, although I liked it as an action movie, I think it fell short as a James Bond movie. Lack of gadgets, somewhat a lack of Mr-Gets-All-The-Ladies, and missing some of that 007 feel. So I find that as an action movie fan, it was good. But as a Bond fan, disappointed. And just to add, I found that Quantum of Solace just distanced the two types even more. Craaazy cool action stuff, hardly any Bond stuff at all.

So to sum up:
1. Star Trek
2. Batman Begins
3. Casino Royale

And, for fun, including the sequels, enjoyment level:
1. Dark Knight
2. Quantum of Solace
3. Star Trek
(if we put that back in quality rankings, Star Trek and Quantum of Solace switch places and Dark Knight stays at the top).

Killerzzz