The 6 Worst Movie Reboots Aside From 2024’s ‘The Crow’

2024’s The Crow cawed and flapped its wings aimlessly, but it only flew straight into a list of the worst reboots of all time. The film industry won’t learn from this severe misstep, though, so bet good money that another Crow reboot materializes at some point down the line – and don’t be surprised if it’s even worse than Rupert Sanders’ box office Kryptonite.

Miraculously, The Crow isn’t even the worst cinema sin committed by Hollywood in recent memory. Here are six reboot stinkers that sting both the eyes and soul.

The Karate Kid (2010)

The story of Mr. Miyagi training Daniel LaRusso – not only in karate, but also in life – continues to be something that resonates with generations of viewers. Hence the popularity of Cobra Kai as it revisits the characters and narrative threads left open from the film series. In 2010, Harald Zwart directed a new version of The Karate Kid, starring Jaden Smith as Dre Parker and Jackie Chan as Mr. Han. Much like the original version, Mr. Han serves as Dre’s mentor and helps him fight back against the bullies. Here’s the kicker, though: It’s called The Karate Kid, but Mr. Han teaches kung fu… Apart from this unforgivable – and quite frankly, disrespectful – blunder, the film lacks the charm or power of the original story. It’s a deliberate cash-grab and there’s no sane person on the planet who prefers this version over the 1984 movie.

The Mummy (2017)

1999’s The Mummy made Universal Monsters cool again, as it reinvigorates the story from the legendary 1932 movie starring Boris Karloff. In 2017, Universal Pictures gave it another go in an attempt to launch the Dark Universe – a cinematic universe consisting of the classic monsters. On paper, The Mummy had the star power of Tom Cruise behind it, as well as an interesting reinterpretation of the actual mummy in the form of Sofia Boutella’s Ahmanet and a sneaky appearance from Russell Crowe’s Dr. Henry Jekyll/Eddie Hyde. Unfortunately, in practice, The Mummy falls apart at the seams as a stitch job of every monster movie made and serving as an all-too-obvious setup for future films, which ironically were never made. This film is so devoid of fun that it feels like the cinematic equivalent of a Monday morning.

Hellboy (2019)

It’s mind boggling to think about how the film industry works at times. Fans and critics love Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy movies, starring Ron Perlman as the horned one, and hoped for the trilogy to be completed. Instead, a decision was taken to reboot the franchise with David Harbour stepping into the lead role and Neil Marshall sitting in the director’s chair. While diehard fans might have believed it to be an opportunity to bring the movie closer to the comic book’s horror roots, 2019’s Hellboy suffers an identity crisis, never quite being sure if it’s a horror, fantasy, or superhero story. Marshall agrees, blaming producer interference and stating in an interview: “It was the worst professional experience of my life. The script was s***. The decision to make the film was a mistake.” No argument here since this will go down as one of the worst movie reboots ever.

Death Wish (2018)

The original Death Wish series starring Charles Bronson as Paul Kersey is the prototype for John Wick. Paul glides around on screen and inflicts pain on all the bad guys for daring to mess with his family, while delivering the gold standard for vigilante movies. In the 2000s, talks surfaced of Sylvester Stallone directing and starring in a Death Wish remake. Ultimately, this project transformed into the 2018 movie directed by Eli Roth and starring Bruce Willis as Paul. It proved to be a case of wrong place, wrong time, as the Death Wish reboot arrived not too long after a tragic school shooting in America, so a violent film featuring guns and mass killing felt in extremely poor taste. Aside from the timing, though, the reboot exists for the sake of existing. It shoots too many blanks, coming across as nothing more than a knockoff of the much superior original movie.

Carrie (2013)

Brian De Palma’s Carrie remains one of the best adaptations of a Stephen King book. The 1976 film captures the emotional turbulence that Sissy Spacek’s Carrie White experiences in her life, culminating in the now-iconic prom massacre scene. Carrie turned into a box office success and received Oscar nominations, becoming widely regarded as one of the best horror films of all time. In 2013, a remake – helmed by director Kimberly Peirce and starring Chloë Grace Moretz as Carrie – was released. While the cast members put in a good performance and the special effects look decent, 2013’s Carrie struggles to reach the heights of the original, while playing it too safe by sticking in the carpool lane. Understanding it was never likely to outdo the original, there’s a sense of trepidation and admitted defeat from the first scene, which deems this whole film entirely unnecessary by the end.

Dolittle (2020)

Look, let’s be real here for a second: Eddie Murphy’s Dr. Dolittle movies were never peak cinema. They were remakes too, but hey, who didn’t at least chuckle at Dr. Dolittle’s quirky interactions with the cute animals? In 2020, esteemed filmmaker Stephen Gaghan teamed up with Robert Downey Jr. to create a new version of the classic character titled Dolittle. Set in the Victorian era, it shares more in common with Hugh Lofting’s original book series than Murphy’s films – but oh boy, no one could have predicted what a pigsty inspired mess this would be. Unfunny, unremarkable, and unmemorable – it completed the trifecta of irrelevance to become one of the worst movie reboots ever released. Weirdly, though, not many people remember this film. Maybe it’s because it was released not too long before the pandemic, so people are treating it in the same manner as banana bread and Tiger King – all things that feel like fever dreams nowadays.