If you look at the majority of movies that have come out in the last several years and the ones set to come out in the near future you might find an overwhelming number of them are either sequels, prequels or remakes. 

As a self-proclaimed cinephile who watched over 200 movies last year and over 60 this year, it feels like I have recently seen more than my fair share of these types of films. 

Let’s get the most obvious example out of the way, Disney’s newest live-action remake “Snow White.” 

I loved the live-action remakes of “Cinderella” and “Beauty and the Beast” and had high hopes for “Snow White.”

My hopes, however, were lowered when I first saw photos of Rachel Zegler’s costume, which was, let’s just say, not the best. In my opinion the dwarves just look too CGI, Gal Gadot’s acting is subpar at best, and the costumes were just not there. 

While many people want to hate Rachel Zegler, for reasons I don’t understand, she was one of the movie’s very few redeeming qualities. 

It’s not just me, so far the movie has grossed $169 million, which might seem like a lot, but compared to the $270 million production budget plus another $100 million on marketing costs, the movie has fallen quite short. To be considered a box office success, “Snow White” would have needed to make $675 million, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to hit that mark. 

Sequels are often very hit or miss, some can be better than the original, like “The Dark Knight,” “The Conjuring 2,” “Bring It On: All or Nothing” or “X2.” Then there are those you like to pretend never happened for the sake of your own sanity and happiness: “Wonder Woman 1984”, “The Lego Movie 2,” “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “American Psycho II” just to name a few. 

Marvel just announced their cast for “Avengers: Doomsday” and as someone who has been obsessed with Marvel since high school, I’m just not excited anymore. After “Avengers: Endgame” came out, it felt like the end of an era, which it was, and most of the projects since haven’t felt as fulfilling as they used to. 

While there aren’t nearly as many prequels as there are remakes or sequels there are still too many. 

We’ve seen several hit theatres in the last couple years including “Wonka,” “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” “A Quiet Place: Day One” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.”  

While in some cases, seeing what happened before your favorite movie can be super fun and eye-opening, it can also be a complete waste of time and incredibly boring, feeling more like a money-grab than anything of substance. 

All of this is not to say we haven’t seen a good original idea in years, movies like “Anora,” “Challengers,” “No Hard Feelings,” “The Holdovers” and “Abigail” are just a few of the ones I’ve loved that have come out in the past few years. 

But these great original ideas feel few and far between. Sequels, prequels and remakes aren’t nominated for awards nearly as often as movies with original ideas, which just goes to show that along with me, The Academy doesn’t see these movies as anything spectacular.   

Categories: Arts & Entertainment