One of hottest commodities in the film industry is nostalgia. Filmmakers are banking on it and in most cases moviegoers like me are saying, “shut up and take my mind!” Looking at the success this year of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World it is clear that it is working too. But then you look at the failure of Terminator Genisys (which really needs to be spelt as “Genesis” but I digress) and it also shows that nostalgia alone does not sell. So why do nostalgic fans come back to see dinosaurs on an island for the fourth time but shrink away from a killer robot kicking butt and taking names for the fifth time?
To put it bluntly, nostalgia needs to be used but not relied on. Terminator Genisys and frankly the last few Terminator movies in general have only tried to replicate what the previous movies have done. I mean Terminator Genisys tried to do everything everyone liked about the old movies but never worked at trying to create a meaningful story without plot holes. But then you look at Jurassic World which is by no means a perfect movie but is infinitely more enjoyable. And why is that? Because while Jurassic World certainly respects its predecessors and even has a lovely sequence of the film pulling you back to the original it works as a completely new edition of the franchise. There are no borrowed plot points beyond the fact that they are on an island with dinosaurs. The movie frankly had a lot to contribute to the series and was also entertaining in its own right.
But this case of failure as opposed to success goes beyond mere plot points. Looking at the ads for both of these films it is impossible to not notice which film has had more effort put into it. It is clear that Universal and the cast and crew were trying to reinvigorate the Jurassic Park franchise in a quality way while Terminator Genisys looked like a cheap cash grab. The studio seemed like they were trying to make a quick buck by hoping that audiences would be excited to see Arnold Schwarzenegger back in action and not care about anything else.
This particular attitude worries me. For example, I just saw an ad for the Rush Hour TV series and it looked exactly like Rush Hour 1-2. I currently feel no need to watch the show because I feel like I already have. There are so many examples of sequels and spin-offs done well because the people involved tried to ensure quality rather than profits. In an age where the films on the horizon include Independence Day: Resurgence and Zoolander 2, I cannot help but wonder if studios are trying to bank on fond memories or quality products. The two can definitely go hand in hand but there have been too many times where I have left a movie feeling cheated and knowing that the only reason I went was familiarity. I have no problem with the idea of a sequel or a reboot that uses nostalgia as long as it doesn’t use it as a crutch. If this trend does indeed continue I can only hope that Hollywood can put nostalgia where it belongs and remember that a movie can be familiar as well as good.
