It's time for grandfathers to rest: why you shouldn't shoot sequels of old films

And this particular film can be considered the quintessence of everything that should not be done with familiar stories. The aged hero no longer evokes delight, but sympathy, the confrontation with the villains seems to have come from the eighties, and the shooting has not really improved. But still, such pictures are released regularly.

Why do old films go on endlessly

It's simple. Because they are being watched. In an era of fierce competition in cinema, it is much easier to attract viewers with a familiar name than to advertise something completely new. That is why producers are increasingly pulling out old stories and filming The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Predator again.

Predator, 1987

Predator, 2018

In some of them, new actors play, and the stories are restarted from the very beginning. In others, the aged heroes of childhood return and again try to get into the classic images.

With the first, everything seems to be clear: scriptwriters and directors rewrite scripts in a modern manner, invite the audience's favorites and show a familiar story in an updated cover.

This is partly true - the other generation may not be so interested in watching old movies, especially when it comes to science fiction or action films: both shooting and special effects have changed. But for an audience familiar with the classics, this can only cause irritation: once every 10 years, they show the same thing.

But with direct continuation of paintings, everything is much more complicated and often worse.

Why are old actors dragged into sequels all the time?

In a strange way, the point is again in popularity. Indeed, in some franchises they honestly tried to create sequels with other characters and come up with something new. But the audience scolded these tapes, and sometimes simply ignored them.

For example, "Terminator: May the Savior Come" is the only part in which Arnold Schwarzenegger did not act. And the picture, unlike all the others, did not even fully recoup the costs of production and advertising. And this despite the fact that the main role was played by Christian Bale.

Terminator, 1984

Terminator: May the Savior Come, 2008

Star Wars has a much better box office because of its huge fan base. But you can compare the ratings of the 1999 prequel Episode 1: The Phantom Menace and the sequel to the classic episode 7: The Force Awakens in 2015. The first has an IMDb score of 6, 5, the second - 8, 0.

In many ways, the point is precisely that in The Phantom Menace, George Lucas decided to move somewhat away from familiar ideas, introduced new characters and even explained the very existence of the Force from a scientific point of view.

But the audience was much more pleased with the return of Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill in the seventh part. Even despite the fact that the classic story about the destruction of another dangerous weapon was repeated for the third time.

Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope 1977

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015

But in "Star Wars" it saves at least the fact that the main dynamics of the plot was assigned to new actors. And in the fifth "Rambo" in the center of the plot is the same old warrior who once again faces cruel criminals and single-handedly tries to achieve justice.

More than 10 years have passed since the release of the fourth part, and more than 20 years have passed since the end of the famous trilogy. Stallone was not an excellent actor even in his best years: he managed to play only tough guys with stone faces or, on the contrary, outright nonsense in comedies.

Rambo: First Blood, 1985

Rambo: Last Blood, 2019

Now a respectable age has been added to this. And if Han Solo can be quite suitable for him, then John Rambo sometimes just causes pity, and his pumped up muscles are the same relic of the past as the plot of the picture itself. And therefore, even fans will most likely be sad to watch the next part.

Why are new films worse if the old ones were good?

For starters, many of these paintings are outdated. For example, in the eighties and early nineties, action films or slashers about maniacs were at the peak of their popularity. The writers came up with unexpected plots, and excellent directors worked on these films.

Now, the sequels are most often removed by not the most famous authors - "Rambo: Last Blood" and completely entrusted to the newcomer Adrian Grunberg. And the hype that Cameron personally deals with the new "Terminator", which will be released in October, turned out to be just a hoax. Later, the director admitted that he only ruled the script, and did not appear on the set at all.

Moreover, these tapes have nothing to surprise the viewer with. Once upon a time, the special effects in Terminator and Predator were amazing. And the first "Rambo" was a striking representative of the fashionable genre, it combined grotesque violence and political expression.

Now, in terms of graphics, Marvel films bypass the new "Terminators": more money is invested in them, and the best studios are working on special effects. Well, in terms of action, the same "John Wick" looks much more interesting and dynamic than the next release of Stallone. If only because the latter is already moving too slowly and heavily. As a result, "Rambo" is trying to conquer the audience with exceptionally cruel and bloody scenes, forgetting that even in an action movie there must be at least some kind of aesthetics.

Well, most importantly, the plots of some sequels turned into self-repetitions and even self-parodies. Star Wars retells the same stories over and over again. And the Terminator in both the third and fifth parts demands to give him points.

And gradually the authors themselves show the same scenes more and more comically, apparently already realizing that with a serious presentation, the viewer will not be hooked in any way.

But the most telling example of a mindless sequel occurred recently on television. In the next relaunch of the famous TV series "Beverly Hills, 90210" the actors of the classic cast gathered. But instead of somehow continuing the plot or coming up with something original, they play themselves. That is, the cast of Beverly Hills 90210 who got together to film the restart.

Is it true that continuation of the classics is always bad

Not really. Bringing back old franchises can be great. You just need not to play on nostalgia and past popularity, but to come up with something interesting.

For example, Mad Max: Fury Road turned out to be a very bright and dynamic film. Moreover, it can be watched not only by fans of the classics, but also by new viewers: the picture exists separately from the previous parts and is shot in a very modern way.

In Blade Runner 2049, Harrison Ford's character appears only closer to the finale. It serves as a link between the two paintings. But still, at the heart of a new plot and a stunningly beautiful picture.

And even Stallone himself quite adequately returned to the screens another of his legendary character - Rocky Balboa. In the films of the Creed series, one can complain about his acting talent, but the first part did not look like an attempt only to awaken nostalgia.

Hopefully, over time, classic franchises will retire, giving way to new plots, and aging actors will stop appearing in the same images over and over again. There is nothing wrong with nostalgia, but today, looking at Rambo, who once seemed like a model of coolness, is a complete disappointment.

In the meantime, viewers are waiting for the sequel to "Terminator", "Top Gun", "Indiana Jones", "Halloween" and many other films from childhood.