There are no new stories out there. It’s all been done before. Hollywood keeps putting out unoriginal film after unoriginal film. At some point, it seems as though many filmmakers just kind of stopped caring about putting out a good product.
This isn’t to say that unoriginal ideas are bad. There are lots of films out there that are both unoriginal and entertaining. But regardless, it’s hard to tell an original story. All romance films are pretty much the same, just as most action movies are the same. Under Siege, Sudden Death, and Air Force One are all essentially carbon copies of Die Hard. The Secret Life of Pets is just Toy Story with animals. Playmobil: The Movie came out a few years after The LEGO Movie, debuting around the same as The LEGO Movie’s sequel.
There are obviously lots of examples when it comes to comparing movies to their spiritual successors. It’s definitely not easy to sell scripts, and audiences like comfort. There are certain things that usually always sell, and that’s ok. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with an unoriginal idea, as long as there’s effort and passion behind it. But so many films today lack both of those qualities. Disney almost has a monopoly on the summer blockbuster market, churning out superhero movie after superhero movie. They’ve now begun remaking many of their most successful and original films from when they first began. A remake of The Jungle Book came out in 2016, followed by a Beauty and the Beast remake in 2017. In 2019, Dumbo, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Lady and the Tramp all received remakes in quick succession. Disney’s prolific output betrays their desire for more and more money, and there’s not even an attempt at originality on their part with any of their current projects. The Fast and Furious franchise is getting a ninth installment, and washed up action stars like Steven Seagal and Bruce Willis consistently put out mediocre garbage that always sees a direct-to-video release.
Like most things, this flaw in the film industry reflects the state of culture as a whole, as movies are one of the best indicators of culture. Everyone wants easy. The easy solution, the easy way out, the most simple alternative. Social media apps are consistently becoming less and less about really connecting people, and more and more about cheap, low-effort entertainment. Technology is advancing almost daily to make people’s lives easier. The movies are focusing more and more on morally questionable heroes that the value-less youth of today can identify with. While there’s nothing wrong with progress, it’s wrong to let laziness and a desire for “easy” to slip into every area of life. Some things should be challenging. Art is such a thing. Without challenges, people don’t rise to the occasion. The more challenging creating the art may seem, the better it will most likely be. If Hollywood and the movie industry continue to produce un-engaging, simple, sometimes even poorly-crafted entertainment to make a quick buck off of the masses, than movies will continue on their current path. Now, more than ever, the film industry needs fresh writers and ideas. It needs creators willing to put thought and work into their craft. Movies should be about fun, entertainment, and thought, not just money.
There is something to be said for much of the crowd-pleasing fare today, but sooner or later, people are going to get sick of endless superhero movies and Star Wars sequels. If culture doesn’t change, the movies won’t change.