The Most Underrated Movie Remakes Ranked

The original 1968 sci-fi classic "Planet of the Apes" was more than just an action-packed adventure. Starring Hollywood legend Charlton Heston, it was capped off by one of the greatest twist endings in cinema history, written by the master of surprise twists himself, Rod Serling. A thoughtful and thought-provoking film with unsubtle layers of social commentary, its thrills and spills were punctuated by a powerful anti-war message at a time when fears of nuclear annihilation were very real. Nearly fifty years later, Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves would launch a well-received reboot series starring Andy Serkis.

But somewhere in the middle, "Planet of the Apes" became the subject of a 2001 remake by Tim Burton — and did solid box-office, but was quickly forgotten. Burton's effort was dragged by critics as poorly produced action schlock with thinly written characters, and felt almost nothing like the original. Though some of the criticism was valid, the film is seen very differently if you can separate it from the Heston original. On its own merits, Burton's version isn't bad at all, it's just a very different movie, foregoing the more cerebral, slow-paced drama for fast-paced, big budget action.

When viewed as a blockbuster extravaganza, one can overlook its flaws and enjoy it much more as a roller-coaster adventure with top notch special effects and impressive action sequences and makeup. One could argue the film may have been better off as an original story, but as it stands, Burton's "Planet of the Apes" is a sorely underrated remake, largely forgotten by time as a one-off between the original "Apes" films and the 2010's rebooted franchise.

The 1976 action film "Assault on Precinct 13" was only the second feature film for director John Carpenter, who would go on to helm some of the most popular movies of the next decade, including "Halloween," "Escape from New York," and "The Thing." The premise was a simple one (based more than loosely on Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo," one of Carpenter's favorite films), with a vicious gang of heavily armed thugs laying siege to a police station, defended only by a hard-nosed sergeant with a skeleton crew and the help of a convicted felon. What made the film something special was Carpenter's direction and his unique sense of drama and flare.

The remake, released in 2005 and directed by the far-less-legendary Jean-Francois Richet, starred Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne and made significant changes to the plot. In this new, updated version, the assault is the handiwork of a group of corrupt fellow officers from another precinct. Helping fend them off is a busload of hardened criminals, in the midst of a prisoner transfer, whose continued existence threatens to expose the dirty cops. 

Without Carpenter, the film became much more generic, something reviewers decried. But lack of such a strong auteur behind the camera doesn't mean the film is bad, and it is certainly undeserving of its "rotten" score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. In a vacuum, the "Assault on Precinct 13" remake is a satisfying action movie, with good performances from a strong cast that also included John Leguizamo, Maria Bello, Gabriel Byrne, and Ja Rule. 

In 1993, emerging star Bridget Fonda took a brief stab at becoming an action hero with "The Point of No Return," a remake of the 1991 French breakthrough thriller "La Femme Nikita." Directed by Luc Besson before his move to America saw him helming Hollywood classics like "The Professional" and "The Fifth Element," the original "Nikita" saw a wayward young woman turned into a lethal assassin and was wildly successful in Europe and a game-changer in the action genre.

Its American remake, the John Badham-directed "Point of No Return," landed two years later. The film is focused on a woman named Maggie (Fonda) living on the streets and arrested for murder. Whisked off by shadowy government agents before she is set to face justice, Maggie is recognized for her potential and agrees to become an elite killer for their clandestine operations to avoid prosecution. But as she goes on deadly missions for her superiors, she struggles with the increasingly-isolated existence of a trained killer.

To be sure, "The Point of No Return" is not up to the excellence of "La Femme Nikita," nor does it even try to do much new or different with the story. But for those unfamiliar with the French original, the film soars, with a poignant story of a lost soul who fights to find meaning amid a violent life that she cannot control. And a bonus: "Return" brings you Harvey Keitel, so excellent in the role of "Victor the Cleaner" that his work feels like deleted scenes from Quentin Tarantino's Winston Wolf role in "Pulp Fiction," which he would play a year later.

Some remakes become underrated not because the critics whiffed on them, but because they are remakes of long-forgotten films. Such is the case with the 1988 comedy "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, which received good reviews and did reasonably well at the box office, but rarely makes anyone's list of best remakes. 

The film was rejiggered from the premise of a 1964 film called "Bedtime Story" that starred Marlon Brando and David Niven as a womanizer and a con artist who set their eyes on the same target: a wealthy heiress played by Shirley Jones. 

The '80s version, directed by Frank Oz, had Martin and Caine in the same roles, with Caine scamming unsuspecting women out of their fortunes through various high-concept, long con-type machinations while repelled by Martin's crude, lowbrow common con-man. Taking Martin's character under his wing (if only to get him out of his life), the two eventually agree to team up and work on a rich heiress named Janet (Glenne Headly). But after some clever twists, the question becomes: Who's conning who?

A clever '80s laugher, the comedic chemistry between Martin and Caine was terrific. Decades later, it's still remembered as one of Martin's best, even if it rarely gets the recognition it deserves.

Although "The Thirteenth Floor" was frequently compared in 1999 to the far more popular, vaguely similar "The Matrix" (they were released barely two months apart), it's actually a remake of a 1974 German serial entitled "World on a Wire," in turn based on a novel from 1964. "Wire" focused on Professor Vollmer (Adrian Hoven), the technical director for an artificially simulated virtual world, murdered while on the verge of a major breakthrough in the project. 

"The Thirteenth Floor" was written and directed by Josef Rusnak, retelling the story of a brilliant scientist murdered after a startling discovery surrounding a simulated reality program. Starring Gretchen Mol and Craig Bierko, the movie remains a stunning visual treat with an artfully executed crime noir story full of surprises — but back around the turn of the century, it was quickly out of theaters and forgotten.

Negative reviews at the time focused on the complex plot of "The Thirteenth Floor," but this is another film that's better than its critical consensus. It may not be an award-winner, but it's a worthy remake; just don't expect the jaw-dropping action or genre-breaking FX that made "The Matrix" a classic.

One of Hollywood's seminal political thrillers, John Frankenheimer's 1962 drama "The Manchurian Candidate" defined the genre. 

With tensions between the United States and Russia at their highest, the film landed in theaters smack dab in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis, making it all the more timely and topical. In the film, a politically connected war veteran is unknowingly brainwashed into carrying out an assassination of a key figure in an upcoming presidential election. Shortly afterwards, the assassination of John F. Kennedy would make the film feel even more prescient.

Some may have felt that the timeliness of "The Manchurian Candidate" made it an unlikely remake candidate, but it indeed got one in 2004 from director Jonathan Demme. This time starring Denzel Washington, the remake was released during a period of similar unrest and heightened paranoia in the United States — this time, the aftermath of 9/11. In this new version, we meet Gulf War veteran Bennett Marco (Washington), whose fellow soldier Raymond Shaw is now running for Vice President. But recent nightmares and an odd implant found under his skin reveal a sinister conspiracy that may be hiding a horrifying truth.

Bringing the story up-to-date for the 21st century, the 2004 version of "The Manchurian Candidate" brings a new angle that helps it stand out while still living up to the ideals of the original. Though well-reviewed, it is rarely discussed among great modern remakes. But with political tensions on the rise at home and abroad, perhaps it's time to remake one of the best '60s thrillers again.

A cult classic of supernatural horror, 1977's "Suspiria" was directed by Italian filmmaker Dario Argento, and was famous for its striking visuals and overwhelming synth score. More about its look and feel than its story, it followed a young student arriving at an elite dance academy run by a coven of otherworldly witches. In the midst of a power struggle, the witches are working to resurrect an ancient evil known as mother Suspiriorum; the story plays out as a suspenseful mystery, as murders pile up to reveal supernatural secrets.

The 2018 remake, starring Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson, is nearly the polar opposite, though it retells the story practically beat-for beat. Instead of a mystery, the audience now knows the school's secret right off the bat, but watch as its newest student (Johnson) is recruited into their blood cult. While the original was a strikingly colorful extravaganza, the remake is a beautifully shot but otherwise more grounded, gritty film focused more on character than shock value.

With a strange, disquieting tone that escalates as the film progresses, reviews of 2018's "Suspiria" were decidedly mixed, with some critics describing it as shocking, and others bold and daring. Though divisive, the remake is an unmissable movie for anyone who loves the art of film; be warned, however, as it's not for the faint of heart.