Worst Russian Remakes: Part One - The Caucasian Captive, Brigade: The Heir, Gentlemen of Fortune

Classics - It is a classic: it cannot be surpassed, or even come close to its phenomenon... It is unique and attractive in itself, and it does not matter how old it is: 10, 20, 50... It is timeless, and even after half a century, the younger generation of viewers will watch it with admiration. And that's why when contemporary directors are trying to "breathe" new life into it, it begs the logical question: why? Seriously, who needs it? Even young people love Gaidai's "The Caucasian Captive", for whom the cult comedy conjures up associations with holidays, something family, New Year's Eve, and brings back warm memories from childhood....

Older films have their own unique charm, but what about the newer ones? In most cases. remakes and sequels are a soulless commercial project with cheap humour and actors who are disinterested and unable to live up to the image of the original characters. And no, it's not just our opinion - it's worth reading the reviews on the same Kinopoisk, as it becomes obvious: all these "new readings" of old classics - a waste of time. Not surprisingly, their evaluations, as a rule, do not exceed 5 points - and that's at best!

So: today we decided to get acquainted with modern Russian remakes and sequels to iconic franchises that have been voted the worst (by critics and regular viewers alike). Given their low ratings and angry reviews - be warned: possible culture shock... Well: we've warned you, now let's get started!

The Caucasian Captive! (2014)

There have been so many angry reviews and articles written about this remake that it seems like nothing has ever been written about its reputation anymore won't save. As well as, directly, its director - Maxim Voronkov: the story goes that one day Maksim Yurievich was sitting in a restaurant and struck up a conversation with a young group at a neighbouring table - it was about old Soviet films. To his great amazement, Voronkov realised that the young people had absolutely no interest in old classics! So he decided to present it in a new reading, to show the "young" what their parents and grandparents had watched. But it didn't work out very well...

"The Caucasian Captive!" 2014 The remake is an absolute copy-paste of the original film, which is not even for young people, let alone the older generation of viewers. The remake is an absolute copypasta Gaidaev classics - The only difference is the atmosphere: if Gaidai's film was about the USSR, Voronkov's is about modern Russia. The humour is less than primitive: "Shurik" tries to charge a donkey with electricity and drinks to GLONASS, the musical number with "Song about Bears" turns into a music video shoot - very clumsy and not funny at all. Throughout the film, the viewer experiences only awkwardness and misunderstanding - How could such a film be made and allowed on the screens! Many people could not even watch this "masterpiece" to the end.

"I used to think it couldn't get any worse. Now I realise that it can, and even more so...," writes one viewer.

Voronkov himself later claimed that domestic audiences simply failed to appreciate him cinema attractionIn general, the small budget ($3.5 million, to be exact) is to blame. As a result, the film was rated by the audience stake on Kinopoisk, and Voronkov himself remained indebted to Dmitry Sharakois (aka the modern Shurik). After such a fiasco, the director was unable to make a film banned.

Brigada: The Heir (2012)

At the turn of the century of the '90s and 2000s there weren't a lot of worthy films made, but serial "Brigada" is one of those rare exceptions. It is already such a phenomenon of its era that the series is familiar even to Western viewers, who speak of it with genuine admiration. How not to take advantage of the franchise's high-profile name and create something cartoonish but commercially orientated? That's right: you can't - it's too hard to resist ...

For example, in 2012, the film was released "Brigada: The Heir." Denis Alexeev, which instantly gathered... a lot of harsh negative criticism. The film was rated 2.6 on Kinopoisk, and this is not surprising, given what the creators have done! They completely destroyed the whole essence of the original, all its atmosphere, shooting a kind of semblance of a crime drama. At the centre of the plot - Sasha Beloe's sonwho lives a quiet life in the USA, when suddenly he learns about his father's untold riches, for which he goes to Russia. There he confronts the criminal bosses of the 90's, is disappointed in love and so on. Doesn't sound so bad, we agree. However.

The film is frankly dullThe characters raise more questions than sympathy, and there are more love dramas than any sharp plot (which is usually expected from this kind of projects). Many viewers regarded Alekseev's creation as a insult to an old classicsuggesting that it be renamed simply "The Heir," for (quote):

"This ridiculous video has nothing to do with Brigada. No need to dishonour the classics!"

Gentlemen, good luck! (2012)

Another subject for "bullying." by contemporary directors have become iconic. "Gentlemen.". True, on their rating on Kinopoisk they slightly surpassed all the above-mentioned "masterpieces" - the score of the remake is already a full-fledged 3 points!

At the centre of the story is a young hipster Lyosha Tryoshkin (aka Sergei Bezrukov), which is comical in itself. But come on - the actors had nothing to do with it. On the contrary, all the criticism fell on the directors, who, according to the audience, turned the actors into "clowns". The film was scolded for a ridiculous and completely uninteresting script, for the lack of any dynamic scenes, for unfunny humour, and in general for everything - for the fact that it was at all has been withdrawnto put it simply.

"I'm not against remakes, but if you don't know how to do it, don't take it on. This isn't even an average film. It's some kind of cartoonish parody..."

Have you watched any of the above remakes? If yes - be sure to share your opinion in the comments: do you agree with their low grade? It will be interesting to read...