Is Hollywood even trying anymore? I mean Batman vs. Superman? OK fine, let’s put aside the fact that we’ve done about 50 Batman and Superman movies. Let’s put aside the fact that this is just “Oh hey Marvel made an Avengers movie, let’s make a Justice League one too, but without all that back story and lead up.” Let’s even put aside Ben Afflek. “Batman vs. Superman” was the best title you could think of? “Batman vs Superman” sounds like a short story written by a third grader.
Hollywood is intellectually bankrupt, or to be more accurate, the big Hollywood studios are. I can only watch so many 80′s cartoons get turned into live action films. The saddest part is that I remember how excited I was when I first heard there was going to be a Transformers movie. Then I watched the Transformers movie and died inside. The original Transformers cartoon movie had a more mature plot… and a lot less LeBeouf.
The big studios don’t want to spend major money on a project anymore unless they are sure it’s going to be a big hit. The best way to be sure you’ve got a big hit is to make a sequel or reboot. Find something you know already has a fan base and use that. They are counting on the breathless blog posts of nerds like me. That’s why Comic-Con has gone from nerd convention, to nerd convention full of Hollywood stars.
I’m not saying there aren’t some quality films being made, and I’m not saying some original films don’t get in the mix. But they are vastly overshadowed and under marketed. When I say original film I’m not talking some deep weird existential piece of crap that pretentious wannabe film critics laud without really understanding. (I hated American Beauty.) I go to movies to have fun and be entertained. Watching the same thing over and over isn’t fun though. Sure I’m looking forward to Nightcrawler (it’s not about the X-Man.) and Interstellar looks good too. The problem is that you can only name a handful of original major titles, while it’s easy to name dozens of reboots and sequels. What’s the big news out of Comic-Con? Star Wars, Avengers, Batman vs. Superman, Godzilla 2, the list goes on and on.
Of course I’m part of the problem too. I will line up to drop my twelve bucks to see the new Star Wars movie, in 3D on the IMAX screen of course. I watched the Hobbit movies, Middle Earth turned into a CGI cluster. I enjoyed the Avengers, even though it was a sequel. I loved Ender’s Game, it was an adaptation of a book.
The sequels aren’t necessarily bad on their own… most of them anyway. (There’s no excuse for “Superman vs. Batman” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”) It’s just that there is no balance. We need more original movies to balance out the content.
It’s only a matter of time until “Voltron vs. Pokemon go to Hogwarts” hits theaters. Hollywood really is turning into the crazy rabid nerd dreams of Patton Oswalt:
Will this article change the hearts and minds of Hollywood? Should we start a boycott campaign or an internet petition? No, nothings going to change. People are going to line up for every transformers movie and Michael Bay will always be more successful than you. Now excuse me while I go drink a nice cool refreshing glass of bleach.
What do you think of the rash of sequels and reboots? Let us know in the comments below.
