The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

Reboot...heard the term, as it applies to films, recently? If you haven't, you probably don't go to films too much (not necessarily a bad thing) but get used to it, because it's something that's going to be sticking around for a long time.

There are two reasons to "reboot" a movie: The first reason is that there was a good idea that was somehow lost in the original film project and a good artist (director, screenwriter or combination of the two) can bring it out the way it should have been the first time around. I don't really know of any film released that falls into this category (although I do know a few films that should have a reboot for this reason).

The second reason is that there is a huge franchise with a built-in fan base that is willing to pay money to see another sequel or interpretation of a popular classic. In some cases, the franchise in question might have consistently attracted audiences but the latest versions were so terrible, no one wanted to revisit it. In others, it had just been a very long time since a movie sequel has been made, so why not give it another shot? This is so far the only reason why movie studios are "rebooting" past film ideas.

Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are a good example of a reboot. The sequels were so bad that even despite a guaranteed #1 spot for ticket sales in its opening weekend, no actor or director wanted to align themselves with a Batman project because it was painfully obvious it was just for a quick paycheque. The 2005 and 2008 versions of Batman ignored the previous versions and it made an origin story, took a more serious, darker tone, a good director (Christopher Nolan) and a solid and respected actor (Christian Bale) and, perhaps more importantly, took the time to write a decent script. Fans of Batman flocked and continue to flock to see these new movies, as they have delivered the goods that were promised.

James Bond is another good example. I enjoyed GoldenEye when it was released in 1995 and Pierce Brosnan was a good 007. But it got quickly stale: Can you tell me the plot differences between Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough or Die Another Day? It was routine, boring, and the backlash started. So with Casino Royale, they made it an origin story to give something slightly different for loyal fans, made it edgier, more serious (I see a pattern), took the time to write a script and delivered the goods it promised. Casino Royale was very well done, and even if the upcoming Quantum of Solace is bad, at least they gave Bond fans a decent flick for the first time in over a decade.

So coming up next summer is another project worthy of being deemed a reboot, the 11th Star Trek movie. Another reason why studios are getting into the reboot phase is that it's hard to come up with new characters that audiences will like and pay to see. There is a huge financial risk when films cost hundreds of million dollars with no guarantees anyone will go see them, not to mention a general lack of creativity in Hollywood. So Paramount knows audiences love Spock and James T. Kirk, but they are senior citizens now and it's fair to say it's kind of hard to buy a 70 year-old Kirk trying to save the day one more time. So how do you bring them back? Show them when we didn't see them: when they were young. It gives them an excuse to cast new actors, you can create new adventures and tie them in to the stories fans have grown up with and more importantly for studios, you aren't too nervous about how audiences will responds to these characters as you know they are already well-liked. And really, who doesn't want to see how Kirk got chosen to be the Captain of the Enterprise?

Reboots: Coming to a theater near you!