Movie Remakes That Are Better Than the Original Now Available to Stream

Despite boasting lead performances by Liam Neeson and Uma Thurman, the 1998 adaptation of the musical “Les Misérables” was far less successful compared with the 2012 version that stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway and won three Oscars. Though the newer film rating is only slightly higher than its predecessor rating on IMDb, it was rated by more than 260,000 more viewers. The epic 2012 film also grossed more than 10 times the amount the 1998 version had at the domestic box office.

The original “Piranha” (1978) has its fans, including Steven Spielberg, who called it the “best of the Jaws rip-offs.” The 2010 film — which was originally released in 3D — is held in higher regard by both critics and fans, however, thanks to its over-the-top approach to fish-driven carnage.

The original film version of E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web” was an animated musical first released in 1973. More than 30 years later, a live-action remake was released, starring Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, and Oprah, among others. The 2006 movie is certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, with 147 critics giving it an overall Freshness rating of 78%. The animated movie falls just slightly behind, with 21 critics giving it a combined rating of 76%.

Based on Nick Hornby’s autobiography of the same name, the 1997 “Fever Pitch” film is decidedly more English. The British rom-com follows a soccer-mad school teacher whose obsession disturbs his romantic relationship. The American-produced film from 2005 stars Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, the latter of whom is passionate about baseball and specifically the Boston Red Sox. Only half the critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave positive reviews to the earlier film, whereas 65% enjoyed the latter, with the site describing it as a “solid hit.”

The 2009 remake of 1981’s slasher classic “My Bloody Valentine” received positive reviews from 62% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with 57% for the original. Both movies feature a killer who uses a pickaxe against his victims in a mining town, although only the remake presents it all in 3-D.

The original 1957 Western stars Glenn Ford as an outlaw taken prisoner by a desperate rancher (Van Heflin) needing money. According to Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, the well-paced, tension-filled reboot improved on the original because of the “fiery” performances by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale and the direction from James Mangold. Audiences agreed, delivering 86% positive reviews for the remake compared to 79% for the original.

Critics freaked for the 2003 remake of “Freaky Friday,” bestowing upon it an 88% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The original, starring Barbara Harris and Jodie Foster, received a 70% rating. The site’s Critics Consensus cites the charming performances of Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in this fun body-switching movie. A third, made-for-TV version of “Freaky Friday” was also made and released by Disney in 1995.

Jeff Bridges received an Oscar nomination for his performance as Rooster Cogburn, the liquored-up U.S. marshall tracking the killer of the father of the teenage girl who hired him. The role won an Oscar for John Wayne in the original movie. While many movie fans love the original, the Coen brothers-directed remake has higher ratings from both critics and users online. Notably, the later film received a Freshness score of 96% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes compared with the original’s 88%.

Neither the original film in 1981 starring Brooke Shields nor the 2014 reboot that starred Alex Pettyfer were critics’ favorites. Both did better among audiences, with the more recent version getting a 6.3 rating out of 10 among IMDb users, who awarded the original just 4.9 out of 10. On Rotten Tomatoes, the more recent “Endless Love” received an audience score of 58%, topping the 52% audience score of the original.

“Ben-Hur” stars Charlton Heston in the title role as the man seeking vengeance against the Roman Empire that ruined his family. It is perhaps the most famous biblical-themed epic in film history. The 1960 version of the film was the third iteration of the story, and it is also among the most honored of any movie. “Ben-Hur” won 11 Academy Awards, among them Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), and Best Actor (Charlton Heston). Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the epic a Freshness rating of 86%, and audiences gave it an 89% approval rating.

More than twenty years after he first filmed “The Man Who Knew Too Much” in England, Alfred Hitchcock remade the thriller in 1956 in the United States. The later version starred James Stewart and Doris Day as American tourists abroad informed of a plot to kill a high-ranking official in London. Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus lauded James Stewart’s “brilliantly befuddled performance,” and critics gave the movie a Freshness rating of 87%, with 84% of audiences liking the movie.

This entertaining and stylish caper movie directed by Steven Soderbergh stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts. It was remade from the 1960 film featuring Rat Pack members Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis Jr. The slick remake was a success, becoming the eleventh-highest grossing movie of the year and starting a lucrative franchise. The fast-paced flick holds a Rotten Tomatoes Freshness rating of 82%, and an 80% approval rating from audiences.

The remake of “The Thing,” directed by John Carpenter, helped relaunch a new generation of sci-fi films featuring groundbreaking special effects and gory scenes. The film faltered at the box office because it had the misfortune of being released around the same time as the blockbuster “E.T: The Extraterrestrial.” Howard Hawks directed the original, titled “The Thing From Another World,” which also spawned a golden age of science-fiction/horror films in the 1950s. Audiences on Rotten Tomatoes preferred the reboot to the original 92% to 73%.

“The Departed” is Martin Scorsese’s most financially successful film to date. The movie is based on the popular Hong Kong thriller “Infernal Affairs.” Scorsese’s gritty flick about the Irish mob in Boston — supported by its star-studded cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, and Alec Baldwin — resonated with audiences, with a score of 94% among more than 737,000 Rotten Tomatoes users, and it has an 8.5 rating out of 10 among IMDb users. “The Departed” also took home Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece has been brought to the big screen four times, and none of the versions has been especially well received. The 2013 remake starring Leonardo DiCaprio, the most recent version, has the highest score of the four, but that too still has only a 48% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 67% rating among audiences.

The 1964 film “The Last Man on Earth” stars Vincent Price as vampire-slaying scientist Robert Morgan. In “I Am Legend,” similarly based on Richard Matheson’s novel of the same name, Will Smith plays the scientist. The later movie was a hit and one of the top-grossing films of 2007, raking in more than $256 million at the domestic box office. On IMDb, Smith’s film has a rating of 7.2 out of 10, with nearly 670,000 users voting. The original has a rating of 6.9 out of 10 with far fewer votes. Another film based on the same story — “The Omega Man” — was released in 1971 with Charlton Heston in the lead. It is the lowest rated of the three.

Frank Oz directed the 1986 remake of the 1960 black comedy that was directed by B-movie helmsman Roger Corman. Oz’s version is a musical comedy inspired by the Broadway play and written by Howard Ashman. In the reboot, Rick Moranis stars as the nebbish flower shop worker who discovers an exotic carnivore plant. Some 79% of audiences liked the remake on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with just 55% for the original, which also featured an appearance by a young Jack Nicholson.

This action-packed thriller adapted from a Marvel Comics series stars Thomas Jane as the FBI agent bent on revenge. Hulking Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren plays the same role in the original. Neither film was very well received by critics. Rex Reed of the Observer said of the 2004 version, “There isn’t a moment in ‘The Punisher’ that isn’t borrowed or stolen from another movie.” Even so, 63% of audiences liked the film on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with just 32% for the original movie.

A mix of live action and animation, “Pete’s Dragon” was originally released by Disney in 1977. The original, with Hollywood legends Mickey Rooney and Shelley Winters, was described on Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus as “boring and slow” and “a lesser Disney work.” Its 2016 reimagining was a success, winning over 88% of critics who said the update “gives the original a visual overhaul without overwhelming its sweet, soulful charm.”

“Dredd” tells the story of a powerful law enforcement officer (Karl Urban) in the futuristic Mega City One. The movie was praised for its special effects and humor. The original version — “Judge Dredd” — was enjoyed by only 19% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes and earned star Sylvester Stallone a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor in 1996.

Director Adam Shankman’s exuberant 2007 film about dance-crazy Baltimore youth fighting for civil rights in the 1960s adheres more to the Broadway musical version than John Waters’ subversive 1988 take on the culture. The reboot is also noteworthy for John Travolta’s turn in drag as the mother of a teen dance queen. Audiences on Rotten Tomatoes gave the reboot a score of 85%, just above the original’s score of 80%.

Critics found favor with the character development and special effects in David Cronenberg’s 1986 imaginative remake of the 1958 parable about the consequences of dabbling with nature, giving it a 92% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences awarded the film a score of 83%, topping the score of 71% of the original that starred one of cinema’s great ghoulish performers, Vincent Price.

“Airplane!” is a reimagined version of the 1957 thriller “Zero Hour!” — which isn’t even a comedy. Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker didn’t just buy the script, but also the actual rights to the earlier film. This allowed them to recreate numerous scenes and inject them with humor. “Zero Hour!” is now perhaps best known as simply being the source material for the 1980 comedy.

Director Howard Hawks’ fast-paced homage to tabloid journalism, starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy, has a Freshness rating of 98% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s Critic Consensus calls the movie “possibly the definitive screwball romantic comedy.” The original film that featured Adolphe Menjou and Pat O’Brien is hardly a slouch, earning a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences far prefer the Hawks film, however, delivering a score of 90% versus 60% for the earlier release.