• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Login/ Register
  • Editorial Team
  • Get Involved

Exeposé Online

Making the headlines since 1987

Exeposé Online
  • Home
  • News
      • Local
      • COVID-19
      • University News
  • Comment
  • Features
      • National
      • Worldwide
      • Politics
      • Interviews
  • Science
      • News
      • Lite Science
      • Common Misconceptions
      • Environment
      • Health
      • Technology
  • Sport
  • Lifestyle
      • Fashion and Beauty
      • Features
      • Food
      • Wellbeing
      • Sustainability
  • Music
      • Interviews
      • Features
      • Live Reviews
      • Album Reviews
      • Single Reviews
  • Screen
      • Reviews
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Festivals and Awards
  • Arts + Lit
      • Interviews
      • Features
      • Reviews
      • Creative Writing
  • Amplify
  • International
  • Multilingual
  • News
  • Comment
  • Features
  • Science
  • Sport
  • Lifestyle
  • Music
  • Screen
  • Arts + Lit
  • Amplify
  • International
  • Multilingual
Home / Screen

Sequel fever: Are we sick of it?

When perusing through the list of upcoming Marvel films, it’s difficult not to feel deeply depressed. Stretching into what feels like the next millennium, there are sequels, reboots, and re-adaptations of stories and heroes we’ve seen before.

These colourful, computerised concoctions are churned out every few months, while a horde of masochistic fans swallow up every morsel like an alcoholic at a wine tasting. It’s tempting to raise your fists to the sky and wonder how things ever got this bad. But things have been worse, and if you’re willing to dig a little deeper, the rise of these sprawling film franchises isn’t necessarily the end of great cinema. The truth is that brand recognition sells. In 2015 we saw the release of Jurassic World, summoning the Jurassic Park name back from the dead to break box office records across the globe. There was also tremendous success with Avengers: Age of Ultron and the seventh Fast and Furious sequel, both of which grossed over $1.5bn. Here in the UK, the twenty-fourth James Bond film, Spectre, was welcomed with a five-star review in The Guardian and more box office records. Audiences like familiarity, and as long as nostalgia sells this well, sequels aren’t going anywhere.

Fast and Furious, credit: Jalopnik
The Fast and the Furious, Image: Jalopnik

This might explain why 2016 is arriving with a multitude of continuations, even when decades have passed since the previous film. These include the upcoming Independence Day: Resurgence, or the peculiar Zoolander 2. Studio executives may not be remaking or rebooting beloved classics as fervently as they once did, but they’re still doing their best to cash in on a recognisable name. It’s not exactly original, but at least our memories are being trampled on in a slightly less insulting manner. You might think that this year’s follow-up to My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a step too far, but if you can bring in the punters on a title alone, why bother making anything new?

sequels can be more than cynical cash grabs

If I’ve got you feeling a bit down, don’t be. After all, without sequels we wouldn’t have The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, or Toy Story 3. Hollywood hasn’t yet lost all its taste for creativity, even if film makers are increasingly working with familiar material. Indeed, the past year has seen the release of a number of artistically innovative sequels. Mad Max: Fury Road dazzled audiences, while the colossal Star Wars: The Force Awakens has injected new life into a much-missed franchise, making Star Wars exciting again for the first time since 1983. When made with appropriate love and panache, sequels can be more than cynical cash grabs.

Credit: Plugged In
Image: Plugged In

As Hollywood budgets continue to rocket upwards, it’s unlikely that the big film studios will start taking risks any time soon. Multiplexes brimming with sequels are increasingly a fact of life, but for the more discerning consumer, the choice is still out there. It’s easy to be cynical when the Marvel Cinematic Universe has just ticked over $9bn at the box office, but rest assured that there’s more to see in 2016 than muscles in spandex.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Feb 5, 2016 By Mark Allison Filed Under: Screen, Screen Features Tagged With: Star Wars, Marvel, James Bond, sequels, toy story, Jurassic World, The Avengers, The Godfather

Avatar

About Mark Allison

Print Screen Editor.

History undergraduate with a passion for films, politics, and good steak.

Follow my blog at www.clueddown.com

Reader Interactions

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

exeposescreen

University of Exeter 🎓 Film, TV, Game section of University of Exeter's student newspaper Exeposé 🎬 🎮 📺 📰

"WandaVision is the first introduction to somethin "WandaVision is the first introduction to something that feels refreshing."

Arjumand Qobil reviews the first three episodes of Wandavision, the first expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on Disney Plus.

https://exepose.com/2021/01/27/review-wandavision/
Meet the Screen Team for 2020/21 🎬 Our team is Meet the Screen Team for 2020/21 🎬 Our team is made up of 2 Print Editors, Francesca and Olivia, and 2 Online Editors, Jim and Olivia. We are all looking forward to bringing you exciting screen content over the next academic year! 🥳 We are always looking for new writers so keep an eye out for content calls on Facebook or drop us a DM if you want to get involved! 📝
THIS WEEK ON SCREEN: In support of #blacklivesmat THIS WEEK ON SCREEN:

In support of #blacklivesmatter✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 , we’re dedicating this week to the work of Black filmmakers and to films that will educate us on racism. Black voices have value and deserve to be heard. 
Link in bio!!
We’ve got some awesome stuff for you this week o We’ve got some awesome stuff for you this week on screen online to cure some of that awful isolation boredom! 💪🏼👏🏼 Go check it out! (Link in bio)
The first batch of #lff2019 reviews are up on Scre The first batch of #lff2019 reviews are up on Screen! Online Screen Editor @heyimjay_cob finds much to enjoy in both #knivesout and #theirishman, two films debuting next month.

#filmfestival #festivalreview #filmreview #netflix #lionsgate

@knivesout @theirishmanfilm @netflixuk @lionsgate @riancjohnson
Online Screen Editor @heyimjay_cob talked to the a Online Screen Editor @heyimjay_cob talked to the award-winning writer/director @mrsambarlow (Her Story, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories) on his latest project Telling Lies, as well as the current state of interactive fiction. The full interview is now on Screen! #gaming #interview #TellingLies #herstory #sambarlow #interactivefiction #choicegames
🌟🎞🌟TIFF, Venice, Sundance, watch out! Exe 🌟🎞🌟TIFF, Venice, Sundance, watch out! Exeter has its own festival in town, for one day only!🌟🎞🌟 📽Tomorrow from 12:45 - 15:00 we will be presenting a handpicked selection of XTV films, as well as early shorts from well-known directors!📽 ⭕️Newman Red (inside Peter Chalk), tomorrow, Wednesday, 12:45, FREE!⭕️ 💫The festival is absolutely free and you can drop in and out whenever!💫
Online Editor @harryjcaton discusses the merits an Online Editor @harryjcaton discusses the merits and downfalls of movie epics in our latest feature article - give it a read, it's not as long as the movies mentioned in it, promise!

#movies #epics #moviemarathons #theirishman #martinscorsese #filmjournalism
Take a look at what Lauren Newman thinks of the la Take a look at what Lauren Newman thinks of the latest stream of Disney remakes, what is her Gospel Truth? It’s a fantastic read for sure! Find it in the Screen section of Exeposé Online!  #Disney #Exeposé
Load More… Follow on Instagram
Tweets by Exeposé Screen

Contact Us: editors@exepose.com

Since 1987, Exeposé has given a voice to Exeter students. Over the years, the determination and political fervour exhibited by students through Exeposé have helped shape the University we study at today. We have received national recognition for our award-winning campaigns, investigations and surveys, and always strive to provide students with high-quality news, comment and features.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in articles and comments do not reflect the views of Exeposé Online or the University of Exeter Student's Guild.

        


© 2021
Website design: Harry Caton and Ellie Cook
Webdesign & development: Harry Caton