Have our screens become saturated with superhero flicks and remakes of better films?
In the present age of cinema, it can be difficult to find a film that was conceptualised from a totally original idea. It seems that most films that are released now are either based on; a novel, comic, true story, sequel or a remake. With all of this saturation in the film market, one must wonder if Hollywood has run out of original ideas. That isn’t to say that all remakes are bad, some films desperately need a makeover. Just look at Vanilla Sky (2001). But it is a growing concern with how many sequels and remakes Hollywood churns out on a yearly basis. At the time of writing this article, there are five remakes, one sequel and one semi-original movie that are showing in cinemas now. We say semi-original because the plot of Life (2017) strikingly resembles another alien attack on an isolated ship in space, except Sigourney Weaver wasn’t there to kill the alien this time.
This raises the question of whether films should be remade into possibly better ones. The answer is both contextual and a matter of opinion. In truth, it depends on the film and whether the original continues to stand on its own. Take the Resident Evil franchise for example, those films have been in desperate need for a reboot/remake since the second film was released in 2004. For that reboot to work, they would need to focus on the horror aspect of the source material and the sheer fear factor that it could deliver. Of course, reboots can be useful when trying to entice a younger audience. In theory there is money to be made with each generation. Surely most millennials had forgotten about The Great Gatsby until Baz Luhrmann resurrected it with his artistic flair and Leonardo DiCaprio.
In order to get the remake treatment, a film has to have grossed a tonne of revenue or have a large cult following of die-hard fans. At some point, we have to wonder whether these remakes are detracting from the ‘feel’ that the originals instil in our hearts. In 2015, someone decided that Point Break was about due for a reboot. You may remember Point Break, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, as being one of the greatest action movies of the last century. Filled with a fun and entertaining story and whole lot of memorable characters all in the setting of surfing in Los Angeles. Released in 1991, it still holds its own without dating too much, so it begs the question of why it needed to be remade. The remake itself was a modest success at the box office but was weighed down by the negative reviews. Let’s hope Hollywood’s remake/sequel to 1995′ Jumanji will impress more…
In certain cases, remakes can be beneficial to the film industry. Disney is continuing its plans with the roll out of live-action adaptions from their classic cartoon films. Beauty and the Beast is ravaging the global box office and is expected to pass the billion mark shortly. Disney plans to adapt almost all of their cartoon properties including Mulan which is eying a 2018 release date. There’s something magical about bringing to life childhood favourites and telling their story through a new medium, we can’t wait to see what Disney comes up with next. However, Disney does have its bad points, as it is responsible for the superhero saturation in the film industry today.
Disney is easily the biggest fish in the sea of Hollywood, owning a number of billion dollar franchises including Star Wars and it’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s right, Mickey himself is the silent, behind the scenes benefactor of most superhero movies on the market today. That’s not to say that all superhero movies are bad, quite recently the superhero genre has seen a positive evolution in the forms of Deadpool and Logan. These movies have broken free from the PG-13 family friendly crime fighters and have opted for a more gritty and grounded take aimed at a more mature audience. This provides the superhero genre with a hopeful future that will allow them to tell a more realistic story over the stylised spandex-clad superheroes we’ve grown accustomed to.
Who knows if Hollywood will figure out the right formula for what matches the correct criteria for a film to be remade/rebooted, but until then check out the 1991 trailer to Point Break below for all of your nostalgia needs.