The summer movie season is in full swing. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Fast and Furious 7, and the long awaited reboot of Mad Max, Fury Road, have already seen their release to some mixed reception. The summer movie season is indeed a time for movie buffs to sit back, ensure that they aren't taking what they see too seriously, and enjoy the multi-million dollar Hollywood budget play out before them. Ideally anyways.
Instead, what typically happens this time of year is quite the opposite. Audiences and critics alike seem to grow increasingly tired of rehashes, sequels, and already-mades. The lack of originality and something new and exciting has cast a dark cloud over the previously beloved, annual cinema renaissance. The summer movie season, once the proud backbone of American cinema culture, has devolved into the quickly failing spleen of the pivotal industry. We only care about it when we hear it's functioning extraordinarily different. Let's for instance discuss Marvel, shall we?
Rapidly becoming the single proprietor of the super-hero flick biz, they threw their hat into the summer ring with a follow up to 2012's Avengers. However, Age of Ultron won't make as much cash for the Hollywood cash-outs as the original, for no other reason than we've been here before. A group of heroes team up, stop a single, highly destructive threat to the world (but mainly New York City), and the day is saved. Maybe a love interest plot line is tossed in there for good measure, but when has that worked out in Marvel cinema? If you answered Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, please re-watch the Spiderman trilogy. The concept is tired and lacks ingenuity. For the audiences, it's not as believable either. Why put these characters in this situation if we know they're more than capable of conquering the issue? We've seen them do it. Age of Ultron proves that Marvel is in its last summer of formula-x. If they choose to wheel it out again in 2016, there could considerable backlash from Hollywood buffs everywhere. Ingenuity. Please.
The new Poltergeist flick is similarly strapped to a parachute of failure, set to be pushed from its burning plane. It's going to be stacked up against its ancestor, the original and highly thought of horror classic, to little prevail. In addition, when was the last time a horror movie was well received, critically? Sure, we all saw The Conjuring, and it was fun to tell our friends about, but was it the crown jewel of a summer Hollywood line-up? No. Horror movies have their work cut out for them as it is, and when the director simply chooses to take a classic, buff out the age, and repackage it, it's not going to go well.
Mad Max: Fury Road may have some potential. The series hasn't been touched in years, yet has a rabid fan base chopping at the bit for a proper entry. However, if the flick fails to deliver, Hollywood will only serve to put another sleeping giant into it's coffin. This is an instance where precaution, tender love, and caring for the details are 100 percent necessary. This is a movie concept with little comparison from the last few summer blockbuster seasons. If done correct, audiences could see some youthful rejuvenation in an industry that loves rehashes. Done incorrectly though, and we're back to square one.
Fast and Furious 7, the seventh entry should tell the whole story on this one. However, I predict a certain level of final success here. The Paul Walker swan song is a beautiful storyline to follow with 7, and should be a reason for fans to see it alone, even if the story is just the seventh rendition of the macho, drive fast, fight faster formula.
Aside from the previously mentioned, this summer will see yet another Jurassic Park flick, unnecessary cash-out sequels to both Pitch Perfect, and Paul Blart: Mall Cop, and an unneeded Disney sell-out with the live action Cinderella. The originality: where has it gone?
To conclude on this pessimistic analysis of Hollywood's go-nowhere fast motif, the question must be answered: Is the lack of originality all bad? Well, quite frankly, no. It's not. The rehashes do serve a purpose in the industry. It introduces incredible storylines, and movies that were previously influential to a new generation of viewers who may not have had an interest in the aged originals. It also serves to reintroduce us to ideas that we loved so long ago. Yes, I'm tired of bad Thor sequels, and remakes on movies which already got their shot in the summer of 2006, but there is method to the madness. Cinema today, while maybe not making as much money as the originals, still provides Hollywood with substance. It drives franchises forward and brings them to new heights.
Maybe the storylines aren't great, but you better believe the effects and presentations of 2015 releases will be a whole step up from their predecessors. Hollywood still drives itself forward with these unoriginals. And from these remakes, a new generation of actors and directors are influenced to challenge the industry and to make something new and exciting. The next Harry Potter series, or the next Star Wars or Shawshank Redemption, is out there, but to uncover it we need to provide today's viewing generation with a foundation. The remakes form that foundation, and they bring what Hollywood has rested its head on to new heights.
Remakes and unoriginality do flood the market. Rehashes dominate theaters across the country, but there is reason to believe it won't always be like this. Cinema has peaks and valleys. There is reason to believe that 2016 will be better, and that there are lessons to learn from the summer blockbuster season.
