Movie Franchise Reboots and Kick-starts
Remakes and Sequels: The Incredible Hulk, Rocky, Halloween, Batman
In the never-ending quest for fresh yet familiar properties, Hollywood studios have resorted to dusting off old stories and characters in an effort to re-create a risk-free moneymaking dynasty. There are two different kinds of resurrections favored by studio executives; the reboot and the kick-start.
Reboot vs. Kick-start
The reboot is by far the most travelled path to franchise revivification. This film is a fresh start featuring new players on both sides of the camera. In many cases, this approach ignores previous attempts (The Incredible Hulk, The Punisher). When a film has stiffed at the box-office or alienated a dedicated fan base, this route of ‘second first impression’ is wisest.
Another angle open to filmmakers is to accept the past incarnations of iconic characters and settings and build on that mythology (Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek). This approach is most effective when a rich universe already exists and has become part of the pop culture fabric.
A last avenue available is a hybrid of both. When a successful character becomes creatively exhausted, studios will often allow for a resting period that restores the audience desire for further adventures (Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, Marcus Nipsel’s Friday the 13th). Considering the success of such character reboots as Batman and James Bond, this tact will send many studio executives trolling through their catalogues for old heroes to dust off and introduce to the 21st century.
The most curious trend in franchise resuscitation is the kick-start. Instead of applying a new formula or fresh face to a known entity, this kind of film has the feel of comeback. Movie stars from decades previous, whose A-list shine has dimmed, step back into roles that made them famous. Whether Sylvester Stallone suiting up as Rambo, Bruce Willis strapping on the gun holster to Live Free or Die Hard, or Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, the lure of past glories proves too difficult for these movie stars to resist. The same can be said for audiences.
The success of these continuations is built upon the comfort of the familiar but also the acceptance of passing time. All of these heroes contend with the betrayal by their bodies in endearing ways. The fact that these aching heroes make their way through the world by physical force only compounds their trials and, as a result, endears them even more to an audience.
Predictably, Hollywood will continue to plunder their past successes (and failures) provided they can turn a profit. Upcoming reboots such as Terminator Salvation, and kick-starts like Beverly Hills Cop 4, indicate that the trend will continue. As long as the fans aren’t disenchanted with lackluster efforts and the box-office receipts are healthy, the studios won’t shut down the practice anytime soon.
