Reboots: why are they always 'darker'?

[Ag0stoMesmer]

From what I've heard the new Robocop is a stinker, they've lost the humour of the originals but, this has happened to re-boots before.

When Batman went from campy kid's show to the Tim Burton re-boot it got 'darker' ooooo. A few years later for the Nolan re-boot they decided to make it 'darker'. It happens in video game too -prince of persia springs to mind.
I guess in some ways it's easier to accentuate the dark but are there any re-boot that go the other way?

Sadly I'm awaiting the torture-porn re-boot of Home Alone, it can't be far away.

[Ag0stoMesmer]

Prince of Persia got rebooted?

You're right, it didn't but, Warrior Within as a 'darker' sequel to Sands of Time is what I had in mind.

Warrior Within has a darker tone than its predecessor adding in the ability for the Prince to dispatch his enemies with various finishing moves -wiki

[Paxton]

For the most part, I think it's just the changing of cultural mindsets. Generally speaking a reboot occurs at least a decade after the original and/or its sequels, and society only seems to be becoming more pessimistic. Now, if we were talking about pop music and this recent trend of trying to convince everyone that they're perfect just the way they are...maybe these kids will grow up and want to make a lighthearted comedic take on Requiem For a Dream.

[ShogunRua]

I wouldn't say the new Robocop is "darker". On the contrary, one of the chief complaints is that it's vastly toned down from the original. The first film was R-rated, while the 2014 version is PG-13. And Murphy's death went from a horrifying, visceral scene of his body being severed apart by gunfire to a non-graphic car bomb explosion. (Not a spoiler considering it was shown in the trailer)

In general, I think many "darker" reboots occur when filmmakers are out of ideas (one of the main reasons why it's a reboot to begin with!) but need a sexy buzzword with which to sucker in audiences.

[TrixRabbi]

I'd hardly call the new Robocop darker, it has the same satirical edge, it's just less concerned with jokes about shooting rapists in the dick and more about addressing the growing mechanization and militarization of the world. Robocop 1987 was concerned with street gangs. Robocop 2014 is concerned with the ethics of building a robocop.

But there's certainly humor, it's just not laugh-out-loud funny. Michael Keaton certainly hams it up as Not-Steve Jobs, and Jackie Earle Haley brings a lot of energy to the movie. There's dark moments, sure, but same as the original had.

This is movie where people are complaining about there not being satire and the frickin' end credits song is [spoiler]I Fought the Law (and the law won)[/spoiler].

[Ag0stoMesmer]

Well, seems rumours of Robocop 2014s lack of humour have been exaggerated, that's good news to me, thanks.

For the most part, I think it's just the changing of cultural mindsets....and this recent trend of trying to convince everyone that they're perfect just the way they are...

Well done for coming up with that, you're a unique an special person, don't go changin'. I think you're on to something, perhaps it is cyclical, perhaps it's following 'softer' censorship trends, I may investigate further.

In general, I think many "darker" reboots occur when filmmakers are out of ideas (one of the main reasons why it's a reboot to begin with!) but need a sexy buzzword with which to sucker in audiences.

Yes. 'Funnier' or 'cleverer' are not only less arresting marketing-bollocks-wise but actually harder to produce too, making something more violent just seems a cop-out.

[Paxton]

I think you're on to something, perhaps it is cyclical, perhaps it's following 'softer' censorship trends, I may investigate further.

I remember vividly when I was a young lad a controversy that swept through my area in Wisconsin involving a Mighty Mouse cartoon in which said hero did drugs and punched a hooker or something. Now, this was a controversy based on the fact that it existed, parents were boycotting Mighty Mouse as a whole because somewhere there was a short that no one had seen. I will say confidently that absolutely no one in WI saw that short, but the fact that it was out there somewhere was a threat to children's well being. It's been some years for sure, but I'm not THAT old, and my one year old son will grow up in a world where he is about three clicks away from looking at bestiality pictures. Times they are a changin.

PS
Pretty, pretty please.
Don't you ever, ever feel,
Like you're less than,
Less than perfect.

[Mentaculus]

Perhaps, to Ag0sto's relative point, "darker" as a general 'feeling' is due to a shifting cultural norm.

IM humble O:
It's most evident in superhero films and comics. What were once fairly simple moral tales about fantastical beings fighting for "common", taken-for-granted moralities are now about complex soul-searching into the underbellies of the individual soul and the price of action [and/or violence]. This goes for Man of Steel. This was in place since the film modernist movement and is probably why Westerns don't normally jive with the public anymore, either.

Perhaps,
Structures that used to represent those taken-for-granted moralities are seen now as devoid of moral substance.
Say, religion, government, and political leadership. Truth, justice and the American Way (respectively) this is not. Also, I believe there is also a change in what is acceptable to talk about and show in Media that wasn't there, say, during the Hays Code or the National Legion of Decency's glory days (sound kinda like Superman villains, don't they?).

But on the filmmaking side, there's probably a bandwagon expectation of "darkness" under the guise of "complexity" going on, so yeah, that's a cyclical way of saying it's a cop-out, too. Question: was the Transformers series (and perhaps the GIJoe reboot live action) dark and complex or just as uncomplicated as their sources? I can't decide.

[mattorama12]

Perhaps,
Structures that used to represent those taken-for-granted moralities are seen now as devoid of moral substance.
Say, religion, government, and political leadership. Truth, justice and the American Way (respectively) this is not. Also, I believe there is also a change in what is acceptable to talk about and show in Media that wasn't there, say, during the Hays Code or the National Legion of Decency's glory days (sound kinda like Superman villains, don't they?).

But on the filmmaking side, there's probably a bandwagon expectation of "darkness" under the guise of "complexity" going on, so yeah, that's a cyclical way of saying it's a cop-out, too. Question: was the Transformers series (and perhaps the GIJoe reboot live action) dark and complex or just as uncomplicated as their sources? I can't decide.

I think you're on to something here. I also think with comic and superhero movies in particular, it's at least partly about trying to reach a different (bigger) audience. For example, I think the transformers tv show I grew up with wouldn't sell well to an adult audience, but the darker version would and did (even though I'm one of the few people on this site that actually liked the first Transformers movie).

Also, I like your point about darkness under the guise of complexity. The two may go hand in hand, but not necessarily. The Transformer movies are surely darker than the show, but hardly more complex. On the other hand, Nolan's Batman franchise was both darker and more complex than the prior television and film incarnations of Batman.

[Ag0stoMesmer]

...a Mighty Mouse cartoon in which said hero did drugs and punched a hooker or something. Now, this was a controversy based on the fact that it existed... and my one year old son will grow up in a world where he is about three clicks away from looking at bestiality pictures. Times they are a changin.

I looked up that mighty mouse thing, that's pretty funny. Reminds me of the BBFC ruling on the human centipede, can't find it online but originally they said that it's mere existence -the very idea of the centipede- was harmful, even to people who hadn't seen it! That's the only time I'd heard anything like it. Your son'll be perfect, just like you man.

It's most evident in superhero films and comics. What were once fairly simple moral tales about fantastical beings fighting for "common", taken-for-granted moralities are now about complex soul-searching into the underbellies of the individual soul and the price of action

Yes, it'd hard to separate this trend from superhero franchises. This Alan Moore-ification (?) seems necessary in some ways. Christopher Reeves (collection plug) Superman would seem strange today, in a post-gitmo/water-boarding world no? Perhaps companies like pixar with the Incredibles etc have taken over the role of making stories with 'more certain' moralities.

But on the filmmaking side, there's probably a bandwagon expectation of "darkness" under the guise of "complexity" going on, so yeah, that's a cyclical way of saying it's a cop-out, too.

The only counter-example I can think of -to getting darker- is Clooneys Batman films. They became increasingly camp and unpopular as a result, leading to...

I think you're on to something here. I also think with comic and superhero movies in particular, it's at least partly about trying to reach a different (bigger) audience.

Always follow the money dude