Are We Suffering Origin Story Fatigue? 242
brumgrunt writes "As more and more franchise movies look to cover the origin story of a character again and again, Den Of Geek wonders why film studios aren't looking a little harder for interesting stories to tell..."
I prefer origins to be mysterious (Score:5, Insightful)
Spiderman (Score:5, Insightful)
All I know is if I have to sit through Peter Parker getting bit by a radioactive spider one more time, well, I'm just not going to do it. My understanding is that the next Spiderman movie is a reboot; here's hoping they "cut to the chase".
Re:Spiderman (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, but this time he'll be all emo and brooding after he gets bit. The demographics for the teenage girl market necessitated it. Product placement also requires that the spider infect him with a strong thirst for refreshing Coca-Cola.
Vote with dollars then (Score:4, Insightful)
The reason Hollywood produces stuff is because they think it will make money. Period. Any artistic value in film is purely coincidental. They've discovered that re-hashing the same old material is much cheaper and easier than doing something really new and innovative, and still sells well. Ergo they will do so whenever possible.
Re:Spiderman (Score:4, Insightful)
It's a genetically engineered spider now, because genetic engineering is the new Hardly Understood Mystery Force that Might Give You Super-Powers. Radiation went out of style in the early 90s.
Re:I prefer origins to be mysterious (Score:5, Insightful)
could be an indication of there being some truth behind the "dumb american" stereotype...
Its one of those stereotypes which also happens to be true. Contrary to political correctness stupidity, just because its a stereotype doesn't mean its not true. The average American is pretty dumb. At one point in time, there was even an official, unofficial list of words which were to be used for TV and movies; otherwise Americans wouldn't understand it. Even worse, Americans would get angry as they felt like the writers were making them feel stupid.
To be clear, that's the average American, not all Americans. Sadly, the average American is dumber than a bag of hammers; and even worse, proud of it!
Re:Playing it safe (Score:2, Insightful)
I want them alive! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Playing it safe (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember, a movie's sole purpose is to put asses in seats. Sure there's some kinds of asses they'd prefer over others, but in general, a movie that makes people feel smart (spoon feeding them until they can draw their own conclusion) will appeal to the masses, as are the ones that provide relief from the world for a couple of hours, hence the summer blockbuster.
The origin story attempts to put nostalgic asses in seats, by appealing to people's childhood days when they read the comics or other such things. And for recent franchises (e.g., video games), it's meant to appeal to those who want a deeper backstory.
It's all about putting asses in seats. And those asses are getting extremely tight these days, so filmmakers are trying to appeal to different groups of asses to get them to spend money. Broadening the market, really.
Re:Playing it safe (Score:3, Insightful)
>The story wasn't all that impressive, but it's the best 'shakey cam' movie I've seen.
That's sort of like saying: "There was lots of pain and bleeding, but it's the best jailhouse anal rape I've received."
Re:I prefer origins to be mysterious (Score:5, Insightful)
I think it's apt to argue that the average *person* is dumb. I've met dumb people from all countries and walks of life. Even more broadly, nearly everyone is dumb (and I include myself in that number, you too, no insult intended) about some things. I don't think it's at all arrogant to call myself fairly smart and well educated. I'm echoing an opinion expressed to me by others whose own opinion I respect. On the other hand I know quite well that my skill in many practical areas of life are rudimentary at best.
My mother in law is a quite a brilliant engineer and a fair visual artist, but her ability to understand literature (whether books or performances) beyond "see spot run" in abysmal. She asked me at the end of "le Mis" why Javert killed himself. She read the "Left Behind" books, not becasue she's a religious nut case, but becasue the story really engrossed her. She actually missed the entire subtext of "This is a right wing Christian fantasy fulfillment novel" until I pointed it out to her. My own mother is nearly the opposite, having no trouble with film or literature, but unable to understand more than basic math without a 20 minute explanation. Everyone is dumb about something. Most people are at least moderately smart about somethings.
Re:I prefer origins to be mysterious (Score:4, Insightful)
To be clear, that's the average person, not all people. Sadly, the average person is dumber than a bag of hammers; and even worse, proud of it!
Seriously, let's not be so ignorant as to pretend that any large sampling of people based on nationality will be anything other than average.
Re:Yes and No (Score:4, Insightful)
I assume you mean besides the obvious bright spot of Charlize Theron running around in a black catsuit.
It would have been much brighter if the live-action movie had kept the same outfit from the anime.