Movie companies have been getting lazy recently, and it’s no wonder why. Though there are still new movies coming out, almost half of what you see in theaters nowadays are just remakes or sequels of older movies. Remakes, of course, are not a new concept, but one plot should not be made into five different movies. And in the case of sequels, if there is that much material that needs to be filmed, it is better to simply turn it into a TV show, rather than making a six-part series or making a single film as a continuation of one that was released 20 years ago.

Many remakes that have been made within the last decade have simply been almost exact replicas of the old versions but with more modern quality in effects and resources. The film industry is clearly losing its juice and just trying to appeal to the nostalgia certain characters might give people who watched the original movies when they were children. Remakes are just an easy way for companies to make more money without having to actually come up with any new material or plot lines. Disney is one of the major companies that has been making use of their old stories in order to make easy money with their live-action remakes. Though some of the movies do feature some new songs or elements, they follow the same plot and storyline. Disney continues to use these films as a way to create new movies without actually coming out with any new content or ideas.

When it comes to movie sequels, there is a bit more effort involved in the writing and production of the movie, but they still lack originality. If a sequel is planned in advance and hinted at in the previous movie, it will fit in better with the plot and just generally be a better sequel. Some good examples of film sequels are any of the last three Hunger Games movies or most Marvel movies. On the other hand, a bad sequel is usually made years later, when the audience that watched those movies as kids have grown up and have fond memories of the movie. These films generally take place years later, to make the audience feel like the characters have aged with them, but they hardly have any real plot or substance.

This article previously ran in the December print edition.