Recently people have been telling me about the direction they feel Hollywood has been and will continue to be taking in the future. I refer to an inclination toward creating sequels, remakes and movies based on outside media such as television or literature.
In the classic sense, sequels are comfort food. It’s nice to be able to return to familiar worlds and characters, and just thinking about great trilogies like the original Star Wars, Terminator, Lord of the Rings and Back to the Future films make me want to squeal with childish glee. These films are the shining examples of how to do sequels right. They improve upon previous entries and manage to hold on to most of their original cast.
While I have noticed a lot of sequels coming down the pipe recently, thinking about films in this way isn’t beneficial. Hollywood, much like politicians, is simply a natural force. We can’t really stop it, we can just watch and wait for something to happen. Good films can come out of bad ideas and hackneyed business practices, and as long as the product is ultimately of superior quality, it doesn’t care where the material comes from.
That being said, the sheer number of sequels is astounding. Here’s a taste of what we can expect this year: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Spider-Man 3, Die Hard 4, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ocean’s 13, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Evan Almighty, The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3 and Resident Evil 3.
Personally, I’d like to throw my chips in with The Bourne Ultimatum. Outside of Bond and the now MIA Jack Ryan films, Bourne is the only spy series out there to offer consistent thrills and character development. The first film was a solid entry, but it was in the sequel that the characters’ depth and the film’s grit really shone through, and it’s my hope that Matt Damon will find it in him to continue such a trustworthy and stellar series of movies.
First and foremost it’s a business practice, and it’s one I support. Films for me will always be a form of entertainment, but I have to respect the fact that the exchange of large sums of money is involved.
However, this practice can become ridiculous. Last year Chris Tucker received $25 million to star in Rush Hour 3, making him the highest-paid actor in the world. Chirs Tucker. The man has starred in two movies prior to this, and he has the gall to demand that kind of pay when his only real acting experience is the other two Rush Hour films. Bad sequels, however, are inevitable and hard to forget. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Rush Hour 2, Batman Returns Batman & Robin, Ocean’s 12 — these films were half cash-in and half phoned-in, and it shows. Recycled jokes for Rush Hour 2, no understanding of what made the first entry “fun” in Ocean’s 12, Harrison Ford not being badass enough in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it all adds up.
Doing a sequel means respecting past narrative endeavors and striving to create a more cohesive and enjoyable story. In the case of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, they took all the levity and gallivanting of the first film and focused their sights on developing character, making the world a darker place and even commenting on the expansion of global business and economy in the face of a pirate’s world. The sixth entry in the Rocky series, Rocky Balboa, reminded us that sweet, good-hearted people still live in this world and that in the end heroes can succumb to foes but never to themselves.
In the end, many people will reject a film simply on the principle that trying to improve upon a previous idea can’t work. But I have to believe that films, like people, can take second chances and still enrich our lives. Just in the last month or so there’s even been talk of a sequel to Terminator, and I hope you too can find a series of films you enjoy half as much as I do the Terminator.
