Originality seems to have been declared an endangered species. Alas, about 70 percent of the movies released this year have a positive integer as its suffix. Summer seems to be the ideal time to unleash these harmless hi jinks to a key demographic of hungry, ennui ridden kids and adults alike. But what I fear most about the unhealthy practice of Sequelism is that it’s rendering true cinema obsolete. With movies that are decked up with pretty people and scant storylines, who’s gonna complain? That’s what audiences what, isn’t it?
For instance, the experience of sitting through The Hangover 2 was akin to having a bad bhel puri at Juhu Beach. It’s merely a hangover of the very first Hangover, again a film too banal to even worth talking about. Films like these manoeuvre their way to the audience under the guise of looking like a funky play on concepts like smartness and fun. However, it’s just another hackneyed yarn coughed up to sell, sell and sell. Frankly I’m weary of looking at the newspaper and seeing a dissonant symphony of films running in theatres.
It’s astonishing just how prosaic a film can get, only to observe that it makes an equally dire film look rather appetizing. This year, The Hangover 2 made Transformers look like Citizen Kane.
In another case, James Bond seems to be diagnosed with a Benjamin Button complex: with each successive movie, Bond becomes younger (and blonder). With franchises like X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman and Batman, the names alone manage to entice congregations to theatre halls.
Once upon a time Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Narnia were strictly literal but now have superb on-screen potential. Don’t even get me started on that insipid Twilight series. Films like these roam the district of ‘been-there-done-that’, bringing nothing new to the table, yet being marketed to give the impression otherwise.
Whatever happened to quality cinema built with a robust framework, complex characters, palatable storylines, breath-taking cinematography and inventive surge of storytelling? And what’s with the obsession for 3-D? Just because ‘Avatar’ did extremely well doesn’t make it appropriate or even sane to cash in on the epidemic. A remake of The Great Gatsby in 3-D is scheduled for release next year. I mean, The Great Gatsby and 3-D in the same sentence doesn’t sound particularly savoury. However people might be curious enough to actually check what all the noise is about. See, that’s what I’m talking about. Curiosity itself proves a noxious weapon.
‘Inception’, however, is a frighteningly brilliant display of creativity, which shows that stories like this haven’t died out so far. But how many more of these ordeals will we have to sift through to get a film that shows more technique than trite? I guess Sequelism derives its MO from everyday life. Not unlike the experience of going to the same restaurant every week and ordering the same dish every single time or asking for a second round of blueberry cheesecake. I guess art imitates life.
I don’t suppose Hollywood studios pay much attention to pleas like mine. What matters most to them is the ‘dough’, not the depth.
You hit the nail on the head!
ReplyDeleteWe are all creatures of habit, I suppose, and like to live primarily in the comfort zone.
In my(humble) opinion, ‘how can someone create a sequel to some of the pointless movies?’---, but maybe THAT is the point. People go to the movies for various reasons--some to escape the drudgery or intensity of daily life and maybe this aimless guffaw is their release, irrespective of whether it is 1 or 2 or whatever.
Yes, it seems that every summer, these perennial movies sprout up, some with a toxic pesticidal spray, and creativity seems to get a sun burn. I guess everyone gets a bit lazy , even the movie-makers.
Some movies seem to come with a renewable membership card (not sure to which club). I think it has just become part of the public anticipation and expectation too. Maybe it accounts for our craving for more—--when children hear a bedtime story, they beg for ‘just one more’—even if it is not an interesting one.
When you think about it---series reading has been very popular and thrilling, since ages. The good part is, that movies that are based on books have a built-in beginning and end (eventually).Not everyone is a reader and for those especially, these movies are—‘literature in action’.I don’t know about you, but I have found, that sometimes, what my mind had visualized and interpreted from the book, was not exactly that, which I saw on screen,-- which was also beautiful--—always nice to open yourself up to another perspective.
And then there are those who just love special effects, stories and plot are arbitrary--- I guess the 3D techno- savvy generation, is here to stay, so better get used to it.It really is just a progression and migration of technology, like how TV went from black and white, to color. Personally, I hesitate to watch the screen through murky sunglasses, but movies like Tron or Avatar make it worthwhile. Reminds me of the thrill we got as kids when we discovered pop-up books! Now, if they make love stories like ‘Notebook' in 3D” Yikes!!!!!!!.
Sometimes depth just needs simplicity.
Movies bring more to than table than just a number(even though some of them give you food poisoning!!)Some of these seemingly superfluous epilogues, keep folks out of trouble and in air conditioning, giving them something to talk about or complain about.
So keep those sunglasses handy and enjoy the rest of the summer!