It feels like reboots are all the rage these days. I thought that it was just in the world of movies, but seemingly not. I just found out the entire DC comic line is doing a reboot. That's right, the whole line. That's over 50 titles, some of which have been running solidly for over 50 years. That's a huge move. In some ways it's exciting, in others, it's kind of sad.
With movies, a reboot of a conventional story is sometimes required. Take Batman for example. Almost all of the old Batman films had different actors playing Batman anyway, so a synergy wasn't actually developed. A number of them had Robin in them, others did not. So doing a reboot many years after makes plenty of sense.
In other movie series, like Superman and The Hulk, a reboot feels just like a ploy to earn more money. The reboots don't really further the story at all, but thanks to the popularity of the stories, the developers think that they can make a quick buck by retelling the story over again from an alternative angle. I do not really like that mentality and am a bit wary of supporting such reboots because I don't necessarily wish to see more of them.
But with the reboot of the whole DC comic line, it appears as though rebooted movies are the way of the future. It's wierd though. Before about 5 years back, I don't believe there was such a thing as a reboot in the movie world. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that sequals were always just extensions of the previous films.
The reboot mindset represents a basic change in storytelling. The film producers are trying to give one generation exactly what they are trying to find, probably realizing that when the next generation comes along, they can just reboot again and reinvent the story according to what the most recent generation is looking for. Stories are now not timeless I suppose. It is too bad.
With movies, a reboot of a conventional story is sometimes required. Take Batman for example. Almost all of the old Batman films had different actors playing Batman anyway, so a synergy wasn't actually developed. A number of them had Robin in them, others did not. So doing a reboot many years after makes plenty of sense.
In other movie series, like Superman and The Hulk, a reboot feels just like a ploy to earn more money. The reboots don't really further the story at all, but thanks to the popularity of the stories, the developers think that they can make a quick buck by retelling the story over again from an alternative angle. I do not really like that mentality and am a bit wary of supporting such reboots because I don't necessarily wish to see more of them.
But with the reboot of the whole DC comic line, it appears as though rebooted movies are the way of the future. It's wierd though. Before about 5 years back, I don't believe there was such a thing as a reboot in the movie world. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I seem to remember that sequals were always just extensions of the previous films.
The reboot mindset represents a basic change in storytelling. The film producers are trying to give one generation exactly what they are trying to find, probably realizing that when the next generation comes along, they can just reboot again and reinvent the story according to what the most recent generation is looking for. Stories are now not timeless I suppose. It is too bad.
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If you're interested in the latest reboots to come along, check out The Amazing Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises.
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