10 Movie Remakes Nobody Expected Or Wanted

10. The Italian Job (2003)

The Italian Job is one of the great British films of the 1960s. A bunch of “cheeky chappy” Cockney stereotypes - led by Michael Caine - in decked-out Minis execute an audacious heist in Milan, all while trying to outwit the fearsome Italian Mafia. During production, Fiat offered to pay for all cars used and abused if the iconic trio of Mini Coopers were swapped for Fiat 500s. The filmmakers said no.

And then there’s the 2003 remake… starring Americans… set mostly in America… with a revenge plot involving robbing an American.

It isn't necessarily bad, it’s an enjoyable enough 2000s action film with some good set-pieces, but it's hard not to feel like the Minis could have been swapped out for any other brand of car and the film released under a totally different name without anybody noticing. And unlike most questionable remakes there isn't the argument that it's trying to bank on name recognition, since the original wasn't particularly successful in the United States.

It doesn’t even bother to remake cinema’s most impressive (and most literal) cliffhanger! What’s even the point?