It has become glaringly obvious just what a troublesome state the film industry is currently in. I found myself dumbfounded given how many movies have been announced to be released in the coming years and how incredibly few of them are original material.
Reboots of the "Fantastic Four," "Transporter," "Hitman," and "Mad Max" series combined with remakes of classic and cult films such as "Poltergeist," "Point Break," "Weird Science," and "Jumanji"; mind you this is only naming a few, many more are set to hit theaters in the coming years. All of this news paired with the flurry of remakes and reboots that cinemas have featured in the past years – from Carrie and Annie to RoboCop and Godzilla – really makes one feel as though Hollywood is running out of ideas.
Now, I will be very clear and say that not ALL reboots and remakes are bad; I will be the first to admit I stood up cheering as I watched Godzilla roaring back to the big screen in his 2014 reboot, but I am simply stating that the practice is getting out of hand. Many would argue that this is simply directors paying tribute to the great works of the past, while others would make their case that Hollywood is simply running out of ideas and is recycling old ones as a result. It seems, however, that this trend of remaking and rebooting stems not from a lack of creativity, but instead a lack of heart.
Films are no longer being produced as passion projects by great directors who want to make works of art, they are being produced in board rooms by executives meticulously formulating their products to sell the most tickets. Film companies will churn out anything with a recognizable name that will get people in the theaters, be it callbacks to famous and cult classics or even reboots of recent series. For example, the character of Spider-Man is set to be rebooted for the second time less than 15 years since the debut of the original.
As a self-proclaimed cinephile and someone who greatly appreciates creativity in its many forms, I am severely disheartened by the current state of the film industry. Not only is it sad to see that films are all too often giving in to the industry and becoming products instead of masterpieces, but also that films are losing their original spark of creativity and grandness. It sadly seems that the years of films bringing to life new and exciting characters, stories, and worlds are gone; all we are left with now are the leftovers of the past repackaged and redistributed as new.
But there is still hope. In a world overrun with rehashing and almost completely devoid of creativity, one comes to appreciate the new and original even more. Though often few and far between, creativity and passion can still be found in modern cinema. Recent works such as "Whiplash," "Her," "Birdman," and several others give a breath of fresh, creative air into the film industry and remind us to keep our heads up and to be on the look out for the next great masterpiece.
So, while the current state of Hollywood may look abhorrently unoriginal and rather bleak, know that there is still hope, and that despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, film may still remain as what it had ought to be: a truly creative and artistic medium.
