Movie Zone
Here I will post movie reviews and recommendations, opinions and updates on the world of film, lists/rankings, and the occasional film essay/analysis if I am feeling brave enough
Ever since the invention of cinema, films have undergone the remake treatment. Whether the reason is to try to recreate the buzz and cash-flow that the original brought in, or to execute a new and unique vision for the source material, there is no denying that the general movie-going public enjoys remakes. But wait. Is not all we hear and talk about nowadays about how retreading through every old property is Hollywood’s dismal way of showing us they are either running out of ideas, or running out of faith in new ideas? Undeniably true. But if there is one thing Hollywood pays attention to, it’s money. It is the same idea we discussed back in January with comic book films: while mostly everyone can agree the same old formulas and ideas are getting tired, it doesn’t erase the fact that people are still paying to see them. Whether that is because there is nothing else in the theater to see, or because they are an easy and safe choice for a relaxed movie date, you can be assured that no studio would be greenlighting the level of remakes and superhero movies that we’ve been seeing if they weren’t positive they would make at least a good bit of money back. And while we always see the occasional flop and more than a few critical pans (now in slowly increasing frequency), it’s safe to say that audiences are still at least somewhat okay with riding along the nostalgic waves. In the second part of my journey looking through the current state of cinema, we are going to be discussing the current reigning power of the legacy sequel. Remake or continuation?Legacy sequels make up a space somewhere between a sequel and a remake. Typically taking place at least twenty years after the original and forgoing any previous installments that came after said original, legacy sequels will most likely be concerned with bringing back fan-favorite actors from the very first film in order to have them “pass the torch” onto a new generation of characters in the hopes of rebooting the property with a new set of films and faces. However, another trope that these legacy sequels often have in common is recreating the most iconic moments and storylines from the original film, which is often where the line between sequel and remake begins to blur. Legacy sequels are far from a new concept. Much like sequels and remakes themselves, they have been around a lot longer than one would think. While there is a strong formula and set of expectations in place with the current onslaught of reboots, legacy sequels have popped up every now and then in Hollywood before, one of the more famous being The Color of Money, a sequel to The Hustler released twenty seven years later. The film focused on Paul Newman’s character instructing a protegé in the world of pool hustling (sounds familiar). And as a horror fan, I of course have to mention 1983’s Psycho II, which brought back Anthony Perkins for a whole set of films that followed a new and interesting look at the character of Norman Bates twenty-three years after the original classic. So what is it that brought on this sudden force of legacy sequels releasing year after year, with entire franchise-reboot plans attached? Setting a legacyIt is safe to say that the current legacy sequel trend we are still experiencing today really began in 2015. Among the biggest hitters in film that year were Creed, Mad Max: Fury Road, and box office record breakers, Jurassic World, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. These films were massive in deciding the direction of Hollywood that we find ourselves in now. Most of these movies were not only monstrously successful financially, but were also (mostly) revered by critics and audiences. Movies like Mad Max and The Force Awakens were hailed for their use of practical effects, which had been more and more vacant in mainstream films up until then. Jurassic World struck at the perfect summer blockbuster moment and many people praised the popcorn-epic-dinosaur fun, while Creed was praised for its emotional performances and handling of character development. While my personal level of agreement with each of these praises varies, there is no denying that these films all worked as catalysts that launched us into not only the sheer number of sequel reboots we are getting, but the specific guidelines to what the stories would be about. Creed and The Force Awakens were able to ramp up as much excitement as they did, aside from being follow-ups to cultural icons in cinema, because they brought back the characters and actors that were the faces of the original product. Seeing Sylvester Stallone back as Rocky Balboa and Harrison Ford returning as Han Solo enticed older audiences to return to see what their childhood favorites were going to be up to in these new installments. Meanwhile, you have the fresh-faced, new generation that these two characters pass the torch to in order to continue on a new branch of the series: Adonis Creed, and Rey, Finn, and Poe. While I think this concept is a fun opportunity to expand the universe of existing stories and carry on the legacy beyond the original characters, we also have a very unfortunate trend brought into popularity by these two films: the legacy characters being broken, depressed, and not getting their well deserved happily ever after. Instead, they sacrifice themselves, oftentimes quite literally, in order for the new characters to be able to take the front seats. This is a big point of contention for many people, and for good reason. Everything from the new Star Wars and Halloween trilogies, to Bill and Ted Face the Music, Scream, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and many more follow this strange trope. I can’t think of anyone who enjoys this, since the people too young to have a connection to these beloved characters don’t really care, and the people who do know and love these characters probably don’t want to see their happy endings completely reversed and demolished. I know I don’t, and even my favorite legacy sequels can leave a bitter taste in my mouth for this aspect. Why you can’t have our favorite characters simply aid the new characters and then go off on their merry way, I will never know. It’s almost as if the filmmakers feel threatened by their mere presence, and feel that the only way to firmly establish their new characters is to assure the audience that these old people are dead and gone for good, or at least too depressed and messed up to go on. But this essentially shoots their new characters in the foot, since now, even if they are perfectly likable, everyone feels a bit betrayed that their favorite iconic characters literally had to be killed off in order for these new people to get their heyday. Another trope that was cemented in 2015 was the style of retreading the same plot line as the first film, only with little wink-at-the-audience to let us know that the characters know this is familiar too. I think this can go either way. Movies like The Force Awakens and the 2018 Halloween retread the same plot points of their original movies with a breath of new life. The story in A New Hope is a fun, simple, sci-fi story that was a good place to launch the new story to appeal to a large number of people. Going in a completely new direction right off the bat (while it may have created a more interesting and immersive venture into the Star Wars universe for us hardcore fans) would have alienated the large masses that helped push it into the top 3 biggest box office grosses at the time. Halloween was able to do a fun switch-up with Laurie Strode being the hunter and Michael Myers becoming the hunted, while mostly following the same beats of the original with a few more dashes of gore here and there. Though, as stated, this method leaves a lot to be desired at times on the creative front. Sure, it will be more crowd-friendly and safe to go with what already works, but the beauty of revisiting these timeless stories is the opportunity for new growth and exploration within the universes. You would think that, with the studios and creators constantly pushing for the “fresh faces” taking the helm from the original actors and taking the story in a “new direction”, that there would… well, actually be some new direction. Instead, as The Force Awakens, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Craft: Legacy, and so on have proved, the interest very much seems to be still in the remake territory that will bring in mildly curious fans who recognize the brand name without having to do too much new story work. And this time, they have the added bonus of bringing back familiar faces to pull in an older audience as well, therefore allowing for massive success across the board. Rebooting the theaterAs much critiques as I have with the legacy sequel craze, I cannot deny that it, much like the superhero genre, has been vital to keeping movie theaters alive as of late. After we began to emerge from the pandemic, people were even more reluctant to go see a movie in a theater than they already had been before, with the rise of streaming and the attention and marketing only being put on big studio projects rather than anything else. But movies such as the Halloween and Scream sequels proved to be financial successes in the theater, even despite Halloween Kills and Halloween Ends being released on streaming at the same time of their theatrical releases. But one of the biggest successes and surprises in the stream of legacy sequels was Top Gun: Maverick. Not only was this pretty much universally praised by audiences and critics alike, but the theater buzz and financial turnaround was insane, smashing box office records. A lot of this had to do with the large marketing campaign and the near constant word of mouth before and after release of how vital it was to experience the film in a theater (and I do personally regret that I missed out on this). Beyond just being a crowd-pleasing legacy follow-up, Top Gun: Maverick reminded moviegoers why we love the theater in the first place. Why there are some movies that were made to be experienced rather than just watched. It truly reinvigorated the magic of the movies. And thankfully, with the recent Barbenheimer takeover, it seems we might be able to keep that magic going now that studios have hopefully been shown the value in good old fashioned theatrical releases - even with films that aren’t remake/sequels or comic book movies. As a theater fanatic, this does make me extremely happy. And I will admit, I am as guilty as ever for shelling out my money when I see that a new entry in a series I love is coming out. Because there is just something about being in a dark room with a bag of popcorn and candy and a huge screen in front of you playing that music you know and love, and seeing those characters that made you fall in love with movies in the first place, that is just truly magical. And if you're lucky, the film will be good, too. A word on horrorNow, to indulge myself, allow this brief interlude on the state of horror. Really nothing could have prepared me for this current wave of horror popularity that took off after the release of Halloween in 2018. The genre had really just been bobbing up and down for a while, with a brief renaissance from films like Split, Get Out, and the remake of It that brought it back into the mainstream with raving critical and audience reception. And when Michael Myers hit the big screen again, it was honestly sort of amazing. For a hardcore slasher fan who never got to see any of the Big 3 in a movie theater, it was definitely a special moment. And a slasher juggernaut returning to the mainstream and being so amazingly successful was exciting. After this we got an onslaught of remake/sequels to classic, recognizable horror films, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, Candyman, and the recent The Exorcist: Believer. Unfortunately, as the pattern goes, these attempts at snagging the spotlight had varying success. Candyman offered a gorgeous visual style, cinematography, and direction, but lacked the power behind the story and characters the original had. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022 reboot felt like more of a parody than anything else. And we all know how the new Exorcist turned out. The movie that managed to land perfectly was Scream. Again, an iconic slasher powerhouse proving it still has the power to bring in viewers and positive reception. In turn, we got the announcement of a Scream trilogy, apparently to take after the same template Halloween used. I’m not sure how or why the trilogy template is so popular suddenly with this new wave of mainstream horror reboots. I’m not sure why Halloween did it in the first place, but I suppose Scream and Exorcist are attempting to follow because those films were absurdly successful. I’m a bit shocked we’ve heard nothing of Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street trilogies in the works. I have to predict that this craze is quickly coming to an end though. Not only have Halloween and Scream been the only ones to really find major success, but with Halloween ending on a controversial note, and the future of Scream and Exorcist being currently both up in flames and on a sinking ship at the same time, the future looks bleak. But we had an interesting run, I suppose. A new horizonMuch like the comic book movie craze, the legacy sequel craze seems to be fast approaching the fatigue era, though perhaps a bit more slowly. With the box office disappointments of Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny and The Exorcist: Believer just this past year, audiences are beginning to speak loud and clear with their wallets (which happened a lot in 2023).
I think some good old fashioned nostalgia is always fun to explore. The Star Wars sequel trilogy, despite a mountain of flaws, has been special to me in ways that have shaped me as a creator and my love for stories in general. I’ve explained how special Halloween was for me, and I think Doctor Sleep is a genuine masterpiece. But, like all popular trends, it’s always taken a bit further than it should be. These trends are hard for Hollywood to break, and we certainly have not seen the last of them pushing sequel after sequel on us, praying to recapture the early magic. Remakes big and small will never fully leave us (I say as I sit here watching the Tubi TV remake of Terror Train while writing this article). Just as with any film, there will be the good, the bad, and the ugly. While I think it has become a crutch for studios that is far too overused, I am not anti-remake, -sequel, or -reboot. There have been many times any of the former have surpassed the original. However, if this generation of film has any hope of establishing its own great stories to be remade and rebooted someday in the future, new things need to continue to be not only idealized, but greenlit and properly marketed and released. Until then, any movie re-exploring an older film at least has the chance to creatively explore the world in a unique way, which can perhaps be a good outlet within an art form that has been seriously lacking original stories getting the spotlight.
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June 2024
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