The Fall of Cinematic Entertainment

Has anyone else noticed that movies are not the same as they were even 10 years ago?

I just went and watched “Venom: The Last Dance” last weekend and I was reminded of this. The movie was subpar, there were some funny bits, but overall, the writing was poor and there was not that much action.

We see this across all movies though, not just Marvel’s current movies. There have been many more films that have left me feeling disappointed. The key takeaways, I think of why movies have taken a turn for the worst include too many franchises, no “movie stars”, and streaming services.

Blockbuster movies of the 2000s and early 2010s have yet to die 10 to 20 years later. According to Screen Rant, 20 sequels have been made this year alone. Franchises like “Fast and Furious”, “Star Wars”, “Mission Impossible”, “Halloween”, “Transformers”, “Toy Story”, “Jumanji”, and “Thor”.All of these movie series have made at least one too many films.

The large movie companies have become too greedy just feeding off of super fans of these movies. They keep turning out more and more films with more extreme measures until nobody wants to see another one. Take “Fast and Furious”for example, “F9: The Fast Saga”is about the team going to space. That is a long way from the original movie, of a few guys illegally street racing.

Another issue with movies of today is that there are no prominent actors anymore.

Take a second and think about it: the only movie stars you can name and everyone else can name are in their late 40s at least. Ryan Gosling, Nicole Kidman, Ryan Reynolds, Anne Hathaway, and Tom Hanks are some of the most household names nowadays. Any other star that you may think of from your favorite movies are most likely tied to a streaming service and not everybody knows. We don’t see a fascination with Sofia Boutella from the “Rebel Moon”films or Griffin Gluck from “Time Cut and Tall Girl”. Without mainstream movie stars, people have less of a likelihood of watching movies. There is no young Leonardo DiCaprio winning Oscars for this new generation.

The last issue with movies that are coming out now because of streaming services.

Streaming services have mass produced movies like no other. There is no stopping or time taken to make a good film. The only thing that matters is making a product. According to Statista, Netflix releases more than 700 films and TV shows on average each year. The CGI in those films are also very low budget. Most movies on Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu have CGI that can be compared to the prequel trilogy of “Star Wars”from the early 2000s. Overall, films of today are disappointing.

From Tom Cruise’s ongoing series of “Mission Impossible” movies to “Avatar” that is expected to release a fifth film in 2031, the franchises keep building when they need to just end while they’re ahead.

Movie studios need to make “movie stars” and invest in great actors/actresses. Streaming services also need to take the time to film a few high quality movies each year and spend more on the special effects. Maybe someday we can have original ideas again like “Fight Club”, “The Breakfast Club”, or even “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”again. Until then I’ll continue to watch new movies, and hope for a better future.

Cassidy Peterson is a Haven sophomore studying pharmacy. You can email her at thehutchinsoncollegian@gmail.com.

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