I’m sick of sequels, even more sick of remakes and most tired of video game movies. Did the end of “Cheaper by the Dozen” leave audiences saying: “I wonder what other adventures that wacky Baker family can get into?” Was the world really clamoring for “Herbie: Fully Loaded”? Is Hollywood’s well so dry that it needed to look to “Doom,” a game in which the plot is, essentially, to kill bad guys?
It seems that 2006 will give me no solace. “Underworld: Evolution,” “Mission: Impossible III” and “Garfield 2” can all be seen littering this year’s release schedule.
Hollywood is mining chunks of my childhood for ideas as rumors of a new “He-Man” movie surface. There isn’t any room for improvement on 1987’s “Masters of the Universe” starring the one and only Dolph Lundgren.
DreamWorks also has plans to make a live-action version of “The Transformers.” Robots in disguise were cool when I was eight, but I’ve had my fill of computer-generated creations battling on the big screen.
And then there are the video game movies. I challenge anyone to watch the “BloodRayne” trailer and not snicker. Shouldn’t we have learned our lesson after 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.”?
This idea drought is present in video games, an industry plagued by sequels. Gaming giant Electronic Arts has made loads of money from its popular sports series, including “Madden,” “Tiger Woods” and “Fight Night.” Other EA popular titles are sequels – last year saw the “Need for Speed” series’ umpteenth iteration.
But EA isn’t the only guilty company. “Splinter Cell,” “Prince of Persia,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Halo” and “Tony Hawk” have all seen their fair share of follow-up incarnations.
Not to say that all of these sequels are bad games. According to GameRankings.com, 16 of the top 20 best-reviewed video games are sequels. But how much is too much? Last year, analyst Wedbush Morgan Securities released a report stating that consumers are becoming disinterested with video game sequels.
We need new ideas in games and movies. Where is this century’s “Godfather”? How many more iterations of “Mario” can we handle? Is it good business to rely on the same tired ideas?
Contact the columnist at [email protected]