Once upon a time trilogies were a rarity. Even sequels could be a struggle to produce. But if a movie makes enough money in our current filmmaking climate then an entire trilogy is likely to be green lit before the additional scripts are even written. More often than not directors and actors find themselves contracted to a bankable franchise and a series of films just as the first is being released With each instalment having the potential to make a greater profit than its predecessor typically Hollywood is more concerned with bashing out the latest film asap while the original still resonates in the public’s psyche rather than taking time to produce an even better film. AKA quantity and not quality.
A major turning point in the development of trilogies came with the films Pirates of the Caribbean and The Matrix. Films which on paper should not have been successful (One was based on a Disney theme park ride and the other was based on Postmodernist Jean Baudrillard’s book Simulcra and Simulation) took the box office by storm. These brilliant standalone films were not initially conceived to be trilogies but this was before the backstage politics of Hollywood got involved. For the first time, both the 2nd and 3rd films of each franchise were made together as one big film to be released in two separate halves. What was mistaken for filmmakers making two films together to maintain and complete their vision was in fact a publicity stunt as well as a way of making two films quicker for a cheaper price whilst all the original cast and crew were still on board. In each case the second films The Matrix Reloaded and Dead Man's Chest were watchable, containing a minuscule amount of formula which made the first ones so successful. However both the third films The Matrix Revolutions and At World’s End had completely run out steam and were simply dull films making little sense but were nevertheless successful. By making a sequel that was similar to the first this was enough to reel viewers into the God awful third films thus making more than enough money back with audiences queuing up, desperate to see how each trilogy ended.
But now with Terminator Salvation and X-men Origins: Wolverine kick starting our CGI blockbuster filled summer of 2009, the latest Hollywood sequel trend now seems to be the fourth instalment: the quartet.
Similarly both Terminator and Wolverine were subject to massive controversy on the eve of their releases. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim there is a mass conspiracy going on within the film industry but it is rather convenient how mass media exposure to each film contributed to their success at the top of the Box office chart. A few weeks before the release of Wolverine a major leak from within the production company meant thousands of people had been able to illegally download a rough cut of the film before its release, thus reawakening the piracy debate in the most explosive scandal in cinema history. First of all 20th Century Fox claimed the copy which leaked was not quite finished and needed to be seen at the cinema to be truly experienced. But then, perhaps with the realisation that those who had seen the almost finished film knew it was very poor, Fox decided to play the sympathy card as Hugh Jackman himself expressed just how upset he was by the leak pleading for people to go to the cinema. This seemed to work.
A major turning point in the development of trilogies came with the films Pirates of the Caribbean and The Matrix. Films which on paper should not have been successful (One was based on a Disney theme park ride and the other was based on Postmodernist Jean Baudrillard’s book Simulcra and Simulation) took the box office by storm. These brilliant standalone films were not initially conceived to be trilogies but this was before the backstage politics of Hollywood got involved. For the first time, both the 2nd and 3rd films of each franchise were made together as one big film to be released in two separate halves. What was mistaken for filmmakers making two films together to maintain and complete their vision was in fact a publicity stunt as well as a way of making two films quicker for a cheaper price whilst all the original cast and crew were still on board. In each case the second films The Matrix Reloaded and Dead Man's Chest were watchable, containing a minuscule amount of formula which made the first ones so successful. However both the third films The Matrix Revolutions and At World’s End had completely run out steam and were simply dull films making little sense but were nevertheless successful. By making a sequel that was similar to the first this was enough to reel viewers into the God awful third films thus making more than enough money back with audiences queuing up, desperate to see how each trilogy ended.
But now with Terminator Salvation and X-men Origins: Wolverine kick starting our CGI blockbuster filled summer of 2009, the latest Hollywood sequel trend now seems to be the fourth instalment: the quartet.
Similarly both Terminator and Wolverine were subject to massive controversy on the eve of their releases. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim there is a mass conspiracy going on within the film industry but it is rather convenient how mass media exposure to each film contributed to their success at the top of the Box office chart. A few weeks before the release of Wolverine a major leak from within the production company meant thousands of people had been able to illegally download a rough cut of the film before its release, thus reawakening the piracy debate in the most explosive scandal in cinema history. First of all 20th Century Fox claimed the copy which leaked was not quite finished and needed to be seen at the cinema to be truly experienced. But then, perhaps with the realisation that those who had seen the almost finished film knew it was very poor, Fox decided to play the sympathy card as Hugh Jackman himself expressed just how upset he was by the leak pleading for people to go to the cinema. This seemed to work.
Then there is Christian Bale’s infamous four minute rant at the poor DP who distracted Bale when adjusting a light causing the film star to completely lose it and aggressively yell at him, still in character. Again with such media exposure unwittingly one of the world’s biggest stars completely losing it brought a lot of intrigue to the table. Viewers put their hands in their pockets not out of sympathy but out of curiosity, to see the piece of work which appeared to drive such a man to near madness. It seems clear that these acts themselves were not intentional, films leak all the time and actors always lose their cool but it was how the PR companies cleverly dealt with these mishaps and turned them right around into free marketing tools which contributed to their mass success.
Then we come to the films themselves. Both trilogies began life as landmark films which both rewrote the genre rule books. The Terminator was made on a shoestring budget by rising director James Cameron who managed to pull off a dark apocalyptic sci-fi film staring a bodybuilder. Similarly X-Men was the first in a long line of Marvel comic book adaptations. Staring a mixture of accomplished stage actors and nobodies, Bryan Singer’s characterisation and humanisation of the much loved mutant characters was strong enough to kick start Marvel film studios even before Sam Raimi’s Spiderman. But interestingly both films then had sequels which were superior films to their initial work. Auteurs Singer and Cameron were given full control as well as bigger budgets and were able to reach the peak of their visions to produce what is widely considered one of the best action films of all time, T-2, and the best comic book adaptation of all time, X-2. The films only needed one letter and one number in their titles rather than their wordy sequels desperately trying to reclaim our confidence.
But then with the third instalments came the trilogie's downfalls. In each instance the third films were met with development hell. X-men was without its visionary, Singer, who had decided (wrongly) to give birth to another dead franchise, Superman. So Layer Cake and Stardust Director who made his name producing Guy Richie movies, Michael Vaughn, was signed up. But after singing Vinne Jones on board as the Juggernaut he soon left, unable to cope with the pressure. Finally the third film was given to loud mouth talentless Brett Ratner. Thus the film was a mess, nothing other than a series of action set pieces and little heart. Similarly after ten years of constant rumours Terminator 3 finally came into being and Arnie now in his mid-fifties returned to the gym. Both directors were lucky enough to be given all the original stars and thus attempted to continue the vision which Cameron and Singer created and give it sufficient closure. Each third film may have been worst in the trilogy but they were still watchable to a degree and still attempted to continue the original story and partially develop the characters further. They were simple films that failed in enhancing the franchises but did nevertheless add to them. They will be remembered simply as lesser sequels added onto the first two works of art.
But my main concern with these fourth films is that they have deeply affected the original film’s plot perhaps even ruined their significance. With no plot left to expand, each fourth film has attempted to delve into the back-story of Wolverine and the adult John Connor who initiates the events in the previous films. Each film is depicting the events that we never see, the driving force of each narrative. Wolverine’s shady past made him a mystifying character in X-men and discovering his identity is what made X- 2 the best superhero film of all time. But with X-men Origins: Wolverine his past is exposed as a boring straightforward, unimaginative and nonthreatening period of events thus rendering the originals pointless. Similarly this dark dystopia we briefly see in the first Terminator which Kyle Reece describes in a terrifying monologue is exposed as a camp futuristic transformers full of robots hitting other robots and clichéd dialogue rather than a horrifying fight for human survival. The trilogies have survived due to our sense of discovery and imagination. Wolverine was a troubled man uncertain of himself and John Connor was a mythic figure, the greatest leader the world has ever seen. The initial films required us to use our imaginations and what we didn’t know was precisely the driving force behind each narrative. But with this degree of mystery gone there is only endless and disjointed CGI crammed into its place.
Neither film should have been made. Hugh Jackman is a talented actor who brought millions of viewers back to the Oscars. Wolverine contributed to him becoming a household name, but it was time for him to move on five years ago, hopefully he won’t find himself typecast. But Christian’s involvement in the fourth terminator film is quite strange. Surely he has enough money and has offers coming in from all angles. He is also aware that the third was the worst of the Terminator trilogy and that he would only join the fourth film if script changes were made and it was an intelligent action film, which it is not. Other than that none of the original cast had returned to either franchise. Both Professor Xavier and Arnie are forced to be brought to life through CGI imagery rather than their actual presence towards the film’s end. Perhaps we will not need actors in the future as a film industry, already blinded by the wonders of CGI, will take things too far and leave Computers to dictate the films just like Skynet itself.
Then we come to the films themselves. Both trilogies began life as landmark films which both rewrote the genre rule books. The Terminator was made on a shoestring budget by rising director James Cameron who managed to pull off a dark apocalyptic sci-fi film staring a bodybuilder. Similarly X-Men was the first in a long line of Marvel comic book adaptations. Staring a mixture of accomplished stage actors and nobodies, Bryan Singer’s characterisation and humanisation of the much loved mutant characters was strong enough to kick start Marvel film studios even before Sam Raimi’s Spiderman. But interestingly both films then had sequels which were superior films to their initial work. Auteurs Singer and Cameron were given full control as well as bigger budgets and were able to reach the peak of their visions to produce what is widely considered one of the best action films of all time, T-2, and the best comic book adaptation of all time, X-2. The films only needed one letter and one number in their titles rather than their wordy sequels desperately trying to reclaim our confidence.
But then with the third instalments came the trilogie's downfalls. In each instance the third films were met with development hell. X-men was without its visionary, Singer, who had decided (wrongly) to give birth to another dead franchise, Superman. So Layer Cake and Stardust Director who made his name producing Guy Richie movies, Michael Vaughn, was signed up. But after singing Vinne Jones on board as the Juggernaut he soon left, unable to cope with the pressure. Finally the third film was given to loud mouth talentless Brett Ratner. Thus the film was a mess, nothing other than a series of action set pieces and little heart. Similarly after ten years of constant rumours Terminator 3 finally came into being and Arnie now in his mid-fifties returned to the gym. Both directors were lucky enough to be given all the original stars and thus attempted to continue the vision which Cameron and Singer created and give it sufficient closure. Each third film may have been worst in the trilogy but they were still watchable to a degree and still attempted to continue the original story and partially develop the characters further. They were simple films that failed in enhancing the franchises but did nevertheless add to them. They will be remembered simply as lesser sequels added onto the first two works of art.
But my main concern with these fourth films is that they have deeply affected the original film’s plot perhaps even ruined their significance. With no plot left to expand, each fourth film has attempted to delve into the back-story of Wolverine and the adult John Connor who initiates the events in the previous films. Each film is depicting the events that we never see, the driving force of each narrative. Wolverine’s shady past made him a mystifying character in X-men and discovering his identity is what made X- 2 the best superhero film of all time. But with X-men Origins: Wolverine his past is exposed as a boring straightforward, unimaginative and nonthreatening period of events thus rendering the originals pointless. Similarly this dark dystopia we briefly see in the first Terminator which Kyle Reece describes in a terrifying monologue is exposed as a camp futuristic transformers full of robots hitting other robots and clichéd dialogue rather than a horrifying fight for human survival. The trilogies have survived due to our sense of discovery and imagination. Wolverine was a troubled man uncertain of himself and John Connor was a mythic figure, the greatest leader the world has ever seen. The initial films required us to use our imaginations and what we didn’t know was precisely the driving force behind each narrative. But with this degree of mystery gone there is only endless and disjointed CGI crammed into its place.
Neither film should have been made. Hugh Jackman is a talented actor who brought millions of viewers back to the Oscars. Wolverine contributed to him becoming a household name, but it was time for him to move on five years ago, hopefully he won’t find himself typecast. But Christian’s involvement in the fourth terminator film is quite strange. Surely he has enough money and has offers coming in from all angles. He is also aware that the third was the worst of the Terminator trilogy and that he would only join the fourth film if script changes were made and it was an intelligent action film, which it is not. Other than that none of the original cast had returned to either franchise. Both Professor Xavier and Arnie are forced to be brought to life through CGI imagery rather than their actual presence towards the film’s end. Perhaps we will not need actors in the future as a film industry, already blinded by the wonders of CGI, will take things too far and leave Computers to dictate the films just like Skynet itself.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. There is no conceivable way yet another wolverine/x-men film could be made. The Terminator franchise is dead but it’s ambiguous ending suggests the worst is yet to come. This is what I fear, countless fourth installments ruining landmark films the world over. Hopefully the lack of quality in each film will discourage Hollywood into making quartets trendy thus rendering the youth of today to exclaim, ‘the quartet is the new trilogy’ and ‘the trilogy was soooo 2007’! But given the box office success, this could be highly likely.
