Over the past many summers it seems local cineplexes have been bombarded with sequels, remakes, and superhero flicks.
The sequel slump has set in. The summer started with the latest Avengers film. It was three hours, while I was fine with most the movie it didn’t have the lasting power of other films in the Marvel franchise. This was quickly followed by the one, two punch of John Wick Chapter 3 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Both good films in their own way but nothing that blew me out the water. This was followed by dud releases of Men In Black International and Dark Phoenix. Along the way there were the unnecessary remakes of Aladdin and The Lion King and the formulaic SpiderMan sequel.
Toy Story 4 is the lone exception to the sequel releases. It doesn’t live up to the incredibly high bar set by it’s immediate predecessor but is still an incredibly beautiful movie.
Summer also sees the release of some strong indy films. This year has brought the charming Yesterday, the zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die, and the drama The Last Black Man in San Francisco. That’s a feast among a sea of summer sequels and remakes.
I do have a wish for the future of the summer movie season: original ensemble flicks. May’s Elton John biopic, Rocketman, and July’s Tarantino flick, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood are both incredible movies that deserve all the success of a summer sequel. They are both great popcorn flicks that are entertaining to watch.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind sequels. Same goes for remakes, as long as they are good. After all I’m on pins and needles for 2020’s April release of Bond 25. Do I need them every week? No and tonight’s almost sold out crowd of the excellent Once Upon a Time in Hollywood proves that. I wish it all the success at the box office, so hopefully more films like it can be released as summer blockbusters.
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