Not every movie needs a sequel and not every character needs a comeback.
And honestly, not everything needs to have a feel-good ending where the protagonist meets ‘the one’ or lands that dream job.
In my humble opinion, some of these OG films that Hollywood is reviving and bringing back (decades later, might I add) are ruining the effect that these films first had on us.
Remember 500 Days of Summer? It broke our hearts in all the best ways. And that end scene? It lives in my head rent-free; brutal but beautiful.
The film does not need a sequel where Tom finds ‘the one’ or Summer regrets everything.
Don’t get me wrong, some sequels slap (hello Princess Diaries 2) so I’ll give them that, but most iconic films should remain untouched.
Like The Holiday; did anyone else’s heart drop when there was talk of it being rebooted? I mean it’s a classic, but again, it’s a classic for a reason… SO LEAVE IT ALONE!
Of course, I understand why Hollywood is so obsessed with remakes; Gen Z is slowly but surely taking over as the prime generation of viewers, and nostalgia is hitting them hard – even for decades they never actually lived through.
Y2K fashion is back, TikTok is obsessed with rom-com edits from over thirty years ago, and teenagers are bringing back the flip phone; and that’s not all.
I could seriously list multiple vintage trends currently making a comeback.
And it’s not that Gen Z doesn’t want fresh and fun content, but when the industry keeps serving up comfort re-watches disguised as something shiny and new, it’s no wonder we’re stuck in a constant loop of reworked pop culture.
Hollywood is also great at looking at what went well in the past to brainstorm for what could potentially go well in the future.
And playing it safe and squeezing out a sequel (or five; looking at you Shrek) has proven to work because they are familiar and bankable.
The original Jurassic Park trilogy earned over AU$3 billion (billion!!!) globally and the rebooted World trilogy has made another $6 billion.
That’s a lot of money from dinosaurs.
So, the formula is obviously making sense to the people in the big chairs. However, I hate that it’s now less about taking those creative risks and more about chasing those dollar bills.
Again, it’s hard to blame them when films like this keep proving themselves – because we are so curious; I mean, I’ll admit it, some reboots I watch just so I can whinge about how bad they were later.
Interestingly, while there’s success in some of these sequels (emphasis on some), a lot flop.
In 2019, the reboot of the iconic Charlie’s Angels barely scraped in $113 million at the global box office, even with a great cast.
Because nothing could live up to the early 2000s film, which made around $405 million.
I’m all for a throwback moment, but sometimes it’s okay to leave the story a little undone.
Not every ending needs to be polished and some of our favourite movies are our favourites because of the endings, even if they’re unfinished.
So, what can I do about Hollywood diving into its bag of tricks to recycle another one of our collective favourite flicks?
Honestly, not much. The money machine isn’t slowing down anytime soon, and as long as there’s demand of curious viewers, reboots and sequels will keep rolling out.
So, I guess I just need to prepare myself for more cringeworthy reboots.
But I’m going to hold out hope that the next great story is just around the corner and it finally puts Hollywood’s reboot cycle to bed.
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