by Aero S.
The film industry nowadays seems dead set on making two things: sequels to blockbusters and reboots of older franchises – and whether we like it or not, we pay to see these movies because most of us already have an emotional investment in the characters and the universe. No matter how much we claim to enjoy Ghostbusters: Afterlife, or the reboot of Freaky Friday on the Disney channel, we have to admit that these movies aren’t as good as we hoped they would be. Without fail, audiences get excited about a revival of a film or show and get disappointed as soon as they see it.
Originality is always going to be relative. Every idea is derived from an already existing one, and so nothing is ever truly ‘original’ these days. However, that does not mean the film industry should just stop trying to make movies that are fresh or as original as possible. Some of these reboots are so bad because they don’t even make an attempt to mask the fact that they’re just quick cash grabs. Take Clifford the Big Red Dog, the 2021 movie based on an existing children’s book series and television show. It stars Jack Whitehall, someone who’s tried to gain traction by being in films such as The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and The Jungle Cruise. Clearly, being the lead in a children’s movie is the next step in his career. This move would have propelled him into stardom, if only he had starred in a better-executed film. But the fact of the matter is that Clifford is a clear attempt to make a quick buck by capitalizing on an iconic character that adults are nostalgic for and one that kids adore. The movie did not make $97 million because it was good – it made that money by having an established IP that is already universally loved.
The same can actually be said for the Ghostbusters franchise, as much as we loathe to admit it. The newest installment of the franchise had little substance and even less to offer in terms of storytelling. It was rife with bad VFX reminiscent of the original franchise, a clear attempt at making the older fans go “Whoa! It looks exactly like the first movie!” Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a lackluster film that further proves that even the best blockbusters of the past could lead to the worst movies of today. Not to mention the all-female Ghostbusters reboot attempt, which received so much negative press that they didn’t make another one, which is a rare occasion for such a profitable IP. Misogyny might have had a hand in giving the movie a bad rep, but it is also just a bad movie all-around. It’s a bummer to see such a beloved franchise be reduced to a cash cow, and if this is the path the industry is taking (and it is), it’s a cause for major concern.
All of this isn’t to say that there’s absolutely no room for reboots or overdue sequels – there’s still hope. With every handful of terrible reboots comes a magnificent one. One of the best ones in recent memory is the Spider-Man films. That franchise has been done by three different actors over the last two decades alone, not counting the animated movies and shows. They manage to reinvent the character in a way that feels fresh while still staying true to the source material in every single iteration, and the reviews and box office earnings reflect the effort put into them. The latest installment of the MCU franchise came out a number of months ago and, unlike Afterlife, has made and will continue to make an indelible mark on pop culture. It’s not highbrow cinema by any means, but it delivered a compelling story accompanied by the VFX that should have also been expected of Afterlife. The Tragedy of Macbeth is a reboot of a centuries-old Shakespeare play and all the movies over the decades; one would think that the story and its characters would have become tiring and outdated by now, but that could not be further from the truth. This film was a highlight in every single film festival it screened in last year, and it even earned three Oscar nominations (and deservedly so).
After all this, what can be concluded? Unfortunately, it’s hard to say. Good sequels and reboots are still few and far in between, but the factor that distinguishes the good and the bad is clear: the willingness to reinvent and innovate. The Tragedy of Macbeth’s story has been done and redone over and over again over centuries, but the way in which the story is told feels new and, dare I say, original. It’s understandable that filmmakers may not want to stray away from the original so as to not anger fans, and it makes sense that they’d want their big-budget movie to do well at the box office, but the film industry is on a road to stagnation if better, let alone more original, films aren’t made. I can only hope that this year, good films will bless our healing world with their presence, and audiences will give them just as much attention as they do with reboots and sequels of IPs from a bygone era.
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