My goal in selecting films (especially at the movie theater) is to generally support original films. This is a necessity in a moviegoing landscape in which there’s barely air to breath for non-I.P. films.
However, I don’t bat .1000 and there is certainly a certain amount of films that are worth seeing anyway. Chris Nolan was originally hesitant to direct the Batman series because he didn’t want to be hemmed in. He eventually decided that he could make Gotham anything he wanted it to be and didn’t have to be beholden Tim Burton’s vision. It’s under that attitude that a lot of auteurs take these projects, and there is the plus of bigger budgets and paychecks . Or at least say that in hopes of stomaching the bigger paychecks.
However, there are limits in terms of the absurdity of these concepts. Perhaps to my detriment, I would not see Lego Movie no matter how good people said it was. A franchise based on toys that openly admits in the title that it’s a cash grab for merchandise sales? No thanks.
I looked through every non-original film I've seen in each of the years since I started keeping track of my movie viewing habits around 2002.
It should also be noted that some very acclaimed films like The Joker, Anatomy of a Fall, All Quiet on The Western Front, Mad Max Fury Road, Star Wars the Force Awakenings, Departed and Chicago were all unoriginal, so it's not necessarily an indicator of bad quality and there are levels to which these are original or unoriginal.
2024:
Borderlands-Video game Adaptation
Gladiator 2-Sequel
Wicked-Broadway adaptation
Madame Webb-Comic book adaptation
Inside Out 2-Sequel
Ghostbusters Frozen Empire: Sequel
Dune 2: Sequel
Best: Wicked certainly capitalized on the technical capacities of cinema. The color palette, richness of sound, and technical effects are more than enough to justify this cinematic adaptation. Not to mention, the Kubrick-like task of hand planting every rose for the multi-colored theme in the opening scene.
2023:
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny-Sequel
Asterisk and Obelisk-Comic book adaptation
Super Mario Brothers-Video game/TV adaptation
Haunting in Venice-Sequel (Remake)
Mission Impossible 7-Sequel
Book Club 2-Sequel
Anatomy of a Fall-Remake (Anatomy of a Murder)
Best: I applaud Haunting in Venice for going in new directions with the same character and theme. But the winner is Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny for doing so many things that one would think impossible for an action film with an 80-year-old lead. The film works with Harrison Ford’s age and continues to deliver realistic action scenes; it blends historical intrigue into its plot masterfully; it matches the tone of the original; it exhibits excellent chemistry between the leads; and it continues the motif of moving the film forward a decade and playing around in the entrapping of the 60s.
2022:
Enola Holmes 2-Sequel (Spin-Off)
Death on the Nile-Sequel (Remake/Literary)
Rosalie-spin-Off (Romeo and Juliet)
Dr Strange and the Multiverse-Sequel/Crossover
Valet-Remake
Top Gun Maverick-Sequel
Knives Out: Glass Onion-Sequel
Hotel Transylvania 4-Sequel
Batman-Reboot
Winner: Obviously, Top Gun. The film doesn’t aim for depth but feel-good summer fun with a dose of “USA Rules!” sentimentality, and it works. Tom Cruise never has to do much acting to simply be Tom Cruise, but the cast is a murderer’s row of younger stars and watching them have the time of their lives is where the party is.
2021:
Tick Tick Boom-Broadway Adaptation
Cruella-Live action remake
Space Jam 2-Sequel/Reboot
Legend of Shang-Tsi-Comic Book Adaptation
West Side Story-remake
Winner: Space Jam 2. The good-natured LeBron James can only carry the movie so far, but it’s really about these archetypic cartoons and the visual humor of the animators keeping up with them in the story.
Edit: I forgot West Side Story, so yes, that. Remaking a classic is no easy task, and Spielberg and crew do an amazing job of reinventing each dance number with greater context and (I’m not going to say better; how can you top Jerome Robbins?) unique panache. The film is prescient and rich without feeling too bluntly political.
2020:
Bill and Ted Face the Music-Sequel
Rebecca-Remake
New Mutants-Spin-Off
Birds of Prey-Spin-Off
Prom-Musical Adaptation
Borat 2-Sequel (TV adaptation)
Enola Holmes-Spin-Off (Public Domain)
Downhill Remake (Force Majuere)
Sonic the Hedgehog-Video Game adaptation
Winner: Bill and Ted Face the Music is a sequel with a 29-year lag, so this was extra special watching it in a movie theater. It has a very unique sense of humor that harkens to the airheads of the 1980s with the twist that they are heroes on a cosmic scale: The fate of humanity somehow rests on them.
However, the American remake of Force Majuere is just the right combination of cringe humor and pathos to hit me in the right places.
2019:
Aladdin-Live Action Remake
Zombieland 2-Sequel
Men In Black International—Spin Off
Terminator Dark Fate-Sequel/Spin-Off
X-Men Dark Phoenix-Sequel (Reboot)
Jumanji Next Level-Sequel (Game Adaptation/Remake)
What Men Want-Remake
Joker-Spin-Off
Dumbo-Live Action Remake
Frozen 2-Sequel
If I went off my top ten list, it would be Joker, but is that really an intellectual property work. It’s mostly just a grand manifesto on the origins of violence marginally disguised as a superhero flick. I applaud it’s marketing and the fact that it could use the DC Comics banner to dupe a lot of low-literacy movie goers into seeing a more sophisticated film.
But in terms of a film that is riding the tails off a franchise, Zombieland 2 was a lot of fun. The chemistry of the gang, the comic relief provided by the Zoey Deutsch character, and in all honesty, I’ve never seen the zombie set-up done so well for a light comic relief angle.
2018:
Wreck It Ralph 2-Sequel
Tomb Raider-Reboot
Teen Titans Go to the Movies-TV Adaptation
Ocean’s 8-Reboot/Spin-Off
Ant Man and the Wasp-Sequel (Comic Book Adaptation)
Hotel Transylvania 3-Sequel
Solo-Prequel
Aquaman-Comic Book Adaptation
Overboard-Remake
A lot of serviceable entries here but no stand-outs. Solo has the epic feel of a Star Wars production and it’s not particularly bad. Alicia Vickaner, one of my favorite actresses, brings a certain credibility to Tomb Raider. Wreck It Ralph and Hotel Transylvania are among my favorite cartoon franchises. But the award goes to Aquaman. It’s so ridiculous (particularly from a science perspective), it goes back to being good again. This isn’t to suggest that Jason Momoa is as charming as he thinks he is, but he’s serviceable and doesn’t get in the way of the plot.
2017:
Cars 3- Sequel
Wonder Woman-Comic book adaptation
Kong: Skull Island-Prequel
Murder on the Orient Express-Remake
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - Sequel
Murder on the Orient Express is a thinking man’s tent pole. The original was directed by the great Sidney Lumet and the cast had no less than six Oscar winners along with the incomparable Tony Perkins and Jacqueline Bisset. This one also has an all-star cast with challenging roles to sink their teeth into. It’s easy in an ensemble piece like this for the plot to become an afterthought, but I found myself more into the plot than before. Was the CGI a little overdone? Admittedly, yes. Was Kenneth Branagh a little hammy? Sure, but it’s his damn movie, so I’ll let it slide.
2016:
Inferno-Sequel (Book adaptation)
Star Trek Beyond-Sequel
Now You See Me 2-Sequel
Suicide Squad-Spinoff/Comic Book Adaptation
Magnificent Seven-Remake
Batman vs Superman-Crossover
X-Men Apocalypse-Sequel (Reboot)
Finding Dory-Sequel
Ben Hur-Remake
Dr. Strange-Comic Book Adaptation
Alice Through the Looking Glass-Sequel
Ghostbusters-Remake
I’m calling a four-way tie.
1) Now You See Me is my guilty pleasure. I’m sure every aspiring musician has dreams of not just wowing the audience but using his abracadabra to play robin hood, engage in ninja fighting, and be among the world’s most popular celebrities. It’s wish fulfillment at its most blatant, but I’m here for it.
2) Magnificent Seven gives us the pleasure of allowing some acting giants (Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Chris Platt) to play on the same time for once. There’s something incredible about a Western with authentic special effects. I’m sure Sam Mendes and Christopher Nolan would be complimentary of the explosives work that went into these battle scenes
3) X-Men Apocalypse is a battle royale that juggles multiple storylines and character arcs in a way akin to a great ensemble film. Seeing Storm’s roots in Kenya or the Callabas’s equivalent of the dark web for mutant acquisitions. Quite a lot to play with.
4) Finding Dory-There was a definite worry in the first half that Dory was just a drag on Nemo and Marlin. She was just grating, unappreciative, and not worth the trouble. But, man, the film hit me somewhere along the way. I was cheering and crying for the eventual reunion and in the same way that Ellen DeGeneres stole the show in Finding Nemo, Ed O’Neill surprised me in a big way here. Not to mention, you never go wrong with underseas visuals.
2015:
Jurassic World-Sequel/Reboot
Man from Uncle-TV Adaptation
Star Wars: The Force Awakens-Sequel/Reboot
Terminator Genysis-Reboot
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2-Sequel
Hotel Transylvania 2-Sequel
Hot Tub Time Machine 2-Sequel
Pitch Perfect 2-Sequel
Ant Man-Comic book adaptation
Mad Max Fury Road-Reboot/Spin-Off
Not loving the aesthetic of Mad Max Fury Road, I’m tempted to go with Man from Uncle which oozed style and sophistication. However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was another testament to the power of JJ Abrams as a storyteller. It seemed like the Star Wars story had come to a perfect conclusion, but JJ Abrams found a new angle on it.
2014:
Penguins of Madagascar-Spin Off
X-Men Days of Future Past-Sequel/Prequel
Into the Woods-Broadway Adaptation
Jack Ryan: CIA-Reboot
Captain America: Winter Soldier-Sequel
Into the Woods is definitely an unusually dark and playful musical even if there’s almost too much tragedy to take. Considering I feel like X-Men Apocalypse makes better use of its ensemble. Penguins of Madagascar is a weak entry in the field.
