Of course it has almost always been the case that sequels are often not nearly as well received as their predecessors. Logically following sequels to the sequels and so on within a movie franchise often doesn't go so well either. Recently, however, it seems as if we are being bombarded more and more with sequels much faster and more frequently than I ever remember before. On the other hand, another very common trend over the last few years, the remake of many movies has been picking up momentum. But why are so many of the remakes so terrible?! Is it a sign of my age? Perhaps I'm too familiar with an original to give a remake an open mind?
Take for example, recently, the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We loved the first one and the second was ok I suppose. But the third? It was terrible! And now even a forth?! Ok, while the fourth waaas better than the third by a margin, that's still not saying much. How about the new X-Men movie? Honestly, I thought it was terrible. We've gone through 3 X-Men movies, one Wolverine movie, and now this. I almost feel like they put more effort into thinking of how to include Hugh Jackman than on how to write a good story. Of course, that rule of bad sequels doesn't always hold true. Remember Terminator 2? Incredible!
As for remakes, the list just goes far to high to list them all. Seems like 60 percent of the movies released today are remakes of older movies. Ohhh! Here's one good example: The Karate Kid! Nevermind the face that karate is a Japanese martial art and they are in China clearly learning kung-fu! Or the Nightmare on Elm Street. Here is one that made me so excited when I heard it was coming out. You see, I love Freddy Krueger. The character is a legend for me. When I found otu Robert Englund was not going to be playing him, I was beyond disappointed at first, but decided to give the new guy a chance. During the previews I had a little bit of hope, until I heard Freddy speak that is.... Then the actual movie turned out to be terrible with over and under acting up the wazoo and uninspired scenes....
I miss the creativity that older movies seemed to emit. Though really, is it fair to judge movies so harshly these days? As an old episode of South Park (another South Park reference, go figure) pointed out, everything has been copying or playing off of older titles and ideas for generations in film and television. It's nothing new.
Hi Brian. You just simply said it all.
ReplyDeleteI'm definetly NOT a fan of remakes. I remember that in 1969 this awesome movie called the Italian Job came out. WOW. THEN in 2003 the remake came out. SAD FACE .
Truth is noone can remake something that was brilliantly done before. I cannot imagine Rebel Without a Cause, Some like it Hot or Singin' in the Rain being remade into nowadays standards (alright, am I being too obvious about the fact that I love old movies?). However, not everything is bad. I like the way that Beowulf and Thor were done. And I also loved Nine and Chicago (originally Broadway musicals). Somehow the essence of these movies was kept. LOVED IT.
As for originality, as Coco Chanel said once: "Those who believe in their own originality have no memory." Meaning that everything was done already. Creativity on the other hand, will never die. Got to be artistic.