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Tuesday
10Mar2009

Brett Ratner Rebooting - Not Remaking - 'Conan'

DateTuesday, March 10, 2009 at 11:03AM
There's something about Brett Ratner updating a Conan movie that just doesn't sit right with me. I can only picture Conan swinging from road signs over traffic in Los Angeles, getting his loincloth ripped by the passing antenna of a truck or something. The Rat has been a very successful filmmaker over the years, it's true, but I'm not sure he has enough versatility to do, well, anything but Chris Tucker movies.

But Ratner swears he's in this one for the long haul and the right reasons, claiming at one point that Conan was the first comic book he ever read and now he's ready to go back to the comic book for his new reboot. The director emphasized to MTV that it's not a remake of the first movie, which is the new industry speak. Everybody's saying they're going back to the source material, as if the first film wasn't based on that same story.

“The script is very cool, contemporary,” Ratner said. “It’s not an homage. It’s not a remake, really. It’s going back to the original source material — the mythology of the characters.”

Exactly.

I wonder if Rat's also planning to go back to the mythology of Axel Foley when he does the fourth Beverly Hills Cop flick. Now, I don't hate Ratner as much as lot of movie journalists; I just think he's limited. That first Rush Hour was good fun. What he does well is silly action films, a bit like Michael Bay, minus the effects. But a guy who directs a lot of Mariah Carey videos wouldn't be the dream pick for Conan the Barbarian, you know?

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

Yeah, I'd be more inclined to give the job to one of the hot "splat-pack" directors, like maybe the guy who did The Descent (Neil Marshall), or Doomsday (Also Neil Marshall), you know? Maybe I'm just saying give it to the guy who did Dog Soldiers, that's all (Neil Marshall).

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterWill

There's one problem with Ratner saying he's going back to the source material and basing it on the comic book - the comics while not bad, weren't the original source material. In fact, they were created quite a while AFTER the source material - that being the original short stories and the single novel by Robert E Howard.

Ratner does well when he sticks with one formula - that being silly action comedies. However, sci-fi and fantasy are something he doesn't do well. Period.

Sunday, March 15, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterDarrel

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