Blockbuster Movies: Where Are The New Ideas?

(Akiit.com) Unless you have been living on the moon for the past couple of decades, you will be well aware of the looky-likey, samey-story appearance of the vast majority of Hollywood blockbusters in movies these days. Endless reboots and remakes are the order of the day, and it seems like there are just no new ideas as production companies and distributors try and create the next big blockbuster. Where, exactly, are all the new ideas? In today’s look at the film industry, we’re going to endeavor to find out why every blockbuster you see tomorrow is likely to be all too similar to the one you saw yesterday.

The culprits

You don’t have to scratch too deep beneath the surface to see the lack of ideas in Hollywood these days. While the latest incarnation of Spider Man, for example, is a pretty good take, it’s yet another reboot in less than 20 years. There’s the whole interconnectedness with the Marvel movies, too, which mostly follow the same structure for every film. Even the next chapter in the Star Wars franchise was basically a retelling of the first story, almost frame by frame but using different characters. Then, of course, you have the endless churn of franchises like Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mission Impossible, and Resident Evil amongst many, many others. If Hollywood wants to get out of this particular mess, it has a lot of hard work to do.

Showing promise

The last year has seen something of a change for the better, however. Take Logan as the perfect example. While it is technically a movie in the X-Men series, it stands alone as something different – real story telling and touching on emotions and themes you rarely see in the typical superhero movie. There’s a lot of promise from abroad, too – anime movies from Japan are often packed full of exciting new ideas, which should serve as excellent source material for Hollywood producers – expect Ghost in the Shell to be the first of many making the leap across the Pacific.

The copycats

Every now and then your interest might be piqued by something that sounds new – but ultimately isn’t. Found footage movies are ten-a-penny these days, and all seem to follow the same tired formula. The Percy Jackson movies sounded like they might be a little unique, but ended up being a basic retelling of Harry Potter – as did the Hunger Games series. While it’s true that parts of the worldwide audience like feeling comfortable with particular themes, they still don’t want carbon copies.

Kids movies

Finally, one of the biggest factors behind all this copycat movie making and regurgitation is down to the fact that producers seem wary of embracing R ratings. Playing it safe and maximizing your box office takings by focusing your efforts on family fun might make sense from a financial perspective. But all this hedging of bets is having a severe impact on the studio’s’ ability to innovate. You can push boundaries when you make movies for an adult audience. Again, Logan is the perfect example – let’s hope we see more along these lines in the not-too-distant future.

Let us know your thoughts on the current status of blockbuster movies in the comments!

Staff Writer; Lisa Brown

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