credit: Fate of the Furious
There are those times when I feel like I’m becoming a broken record when it comes to talking about innovation and fresh ideas in Hollywood and how they appear to be an endangered species. A lot of people will deny this since, well, they don’t want to admit that the blockbuster movies that continue to roll out are less inventive than a 4th-grade play. But the additions to one franchise or another, the ideas that come rolling out of left field, prequels, sequels, remakes, reboots, and the like are only continuing to be popular since people have found a comfort zone that caters to their every need as they no longer feel the need to be challenged and/or asked to invest in a new storyline since the major franchises and the more inane ideas that have been rolled out over the years have made it clear that a deeper level of thinking and a new story aren’t nearly as desirable as they sound. I mean, why would they if a franchise can keep adding on elements and actors without having to really give the plot a lot of meaning and thoughtful development?
Here are five movies that kind of prove that Hollywood is running out of creative ideas.
5. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
credit: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
There have been a few inventive movies involving presidents over the years, but the downside of this is that unless they’re serious period pieces, these types of movies are bound to be a bit ridiculous and more than a little insane. Seriously, one would have thought that Wild Wild West with Will Smith and Kevin Klein would have made it clear that comedy and presidents don’t always work. But turning one of the most well-known presidents into a vampire hunter is something that might be deemed kind of silly and even kind of lazy considering that taking a well-known figure and slamming them into a genre that a lot of people enjoy doesn’t take a lot of work. It also doesn’t take a lot of skill to make someone a vampire hunter in a movie, but it does take skill to make the idea work for those who are bound to watch it.
4. Fantastic Four
credit: Fantastic Four
The two movies that came before this one actually managed to get a few things right, and this one wasn’t so godawful terrible that the team couldn’t be recognized. But for one reason or another, Doctor Doom continues to be a thorn in the side of many directors since getting his look, and his attitude right has eluded those who have tried. But as far as the team goes, trying to race-swap Johnny might have been interesting, but it fell flat without fail and the fact is that this practice can work, but it’s not a guarantee since it relies heavily on the actor and the director to make it work. But overall, this movie didn’t feel like the FF, and that’s a big issue for a team that helped to boost Marvel’s popularity in a big way.
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
credit: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
In another ten to fifteen years, this movie might actually be deemed as one of the best in the sequel trilogy since people are already talking about how ‘misunderstood’ it really is. Unfortunately, that feels like a smokescreen that’s been erected to hide the idea that Rian Johnson is still being allowed to fantasize about what Star Wars movie he’ll use to undermine the franchise yet again. The problem with this movie, well, there are a lot of problems, is that this feels like a Star Wars movie that was written by someone that had the barest understanding of what the story was all about. That might not be the case, but it does come off in this manner. Essentially, it feels like someone skimmed the original trilogy and decided to take a crack at creating a new story without referencing everything that they need to.
2. Cats
credit: Cats
The hate for this movie was more than obvious before it even hit the theaters since it felt like something that someone had planned with a few broad strokes and not much else. Seriously, it’s as though someone decided to see how many big-name celebrities they could gather for a single story but didn’t decide to ask whether or not it would work the way that they wanted. Given how many different actors were placed in this movie, it feels like something should have clicked at some point. But the story was nothing but pure cringe, and the acting, somehow, wasn’t exactly the same caliber that a lot of people were expecting from this gathering.
1. The Fate of the Furious
credit: The Fate of the Furious
The common practice for these movies has been ongoing since the second one, as the continued additions to the story have sent things rocketing out of control in a very big way throughout the last several movies. This addition to the franchise actually added a submarine and a hacker that was able to take control of virtually anything that had a circuit board, thereby making her one of the most dangerous people in the world. When it comes to a bunch of street racers taking on some of the deadliest enemies the world has ever known, though, one has to wonder if they’ll be taking on supervillains and gods next since that appears to be the direction the story is headed.
Ideas are no longer generated. They’re recycled and reused.