No idea is truly original. Every structure of a plot has been done and redone numerous times. More recently the movie industry has started to pile on sequels and prequels and even the adaptations of books and plays.
Have we completely run out of ideas for movies?
The best movies are ones that provoke us. These types of movies invite us to think about our surroundings and reflect on our lives. Usually a movie like this deals with a deeper theme such as the meaning of life, death, love, and loss. Many of these films truly try to reach this goal but just stop short. Critics rave about movies such as, Interstellar, Life of Pi, Forrest Gump, Dead Poets Society and Fight Club. I believe that these movies invite their audience to reflect on their lives for the better.
The biggest question is, why does the movie industry continue to make unoriginal movies? The quickest answer is: money. One of the newest movies to date is Mufasa: The Lion King. To date, the family friendly musical adventure about the future leader of Pride Lands has brought in $168 million domestically and $476 million worldwide. This movie has scored a 6.7/10 on IMDb and a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes meaning that it was average. I have yet to watch it but, seeing from the rating, it has made a lot of money regardless of how the film was adapted.
This is a main reason why they continue to make movies that are unoriginal because they bring in revenue.
Although I have already stated that no idea is truly original, I gave a half truth. There are plenty of original ideas that could come to life, but why make them when the unoriginal ideas bring in the money? The movie market is flooded with so many remakes, sequels and reboots that it is hard to compete.
I asked some of my peers what their favorite movies were and why. One of the answers that really stuck out to me was “The Notebook because it is a good romance movie and it is one of those films that you can watch a bunch of times and never get bored of.” I believe that this is a great answer because many people get bored with a movie just watching it for the first time, but to be able to re-watch a movie numerous times and not get bored is an important quality that some movies have.
Generally speaking, the recent movies that have come out are not as original as they could potentially be but they bring in money. Once the movie industry gets a highly anticipated original idea that many have been waiting for, it will elevate future films and entertainment.
