Now more than ever, movies, music, and television are being created at an obscene rate! This brings up the age old question: is more always better? No! There’s a reason for the phrase quality over quantity. This is an obvious fact as there are many beloved movie franchises with sequels we all choose to forget. One of the best examples of unnecessary sequels are Star Wars episodes one through three. Star Wars episodes four through six were immediate successes as they made hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide. The huge monetary success and popularity of the trilogy is what inspired producers to create another sixteen years later.
According to Screen Rant, the main reason the sequel trilogy failed was due to the lack of chemistry between the lead actors. The amazing chemistry between Han Solo, Leia, and Luke Skywalker led to high expectations in the sequels. The major success of the first trilogy set the sequels up for a flop. There was no way the new movies could beat the beloved original episodes.
For years, Hollywood has tried to replicate the success of movies but have failed miserably with their sequels. Additionally, with the advancement of streaming services such as Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney +, new movies come out every week. There is constantly new content to be absorbed by the public. In fact, there are approximately 2000-3000 movies produced worldwide each year.
Disney and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have taken the most advantage of producing mass content on both their streaming service and in box offices. Starting in 2021, the MCU released four TV shows to supplement the lack of content in 2020. While Wanda Vision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye were critically acclaimed and loved by audiences, that quickly changed as more content was produced. She-Hulk was released in the summer of 2022 and was not enjoyed by audiences. Rotten Tomatoes reports an audience rating of 33%.
As we move on to Marvel movies, it doesn’t get any better. Marvel has put out 31 films since Iron Man in 2008. 19 of these movies were produced in the last 7 years. Starting with Black Widow being released in July of 2021, it received a Rotten Tomato score of 79%. Unfortunately, reviews only decrease from there. Later in 2021, Eternals received a Rotten Tomatoes score of 47%, Ant-Man: Quantumania received a score of 47%, and Thor: Love and Thunder had a score of 63%.Although fans may still have exceedingly high hopes, it’s not looking good for upcoming movies.
I considered myself a big fan of Marvel movies. In the past, I have been extremely excited to be blown away by action-packed and hilarious movies in the theater. Each week, I waited in anticipation for the next episode of one of the Disney + Shows to release at 3:00 am. Marvel has been spitting out films at almost lightning speed, my excitement for them is coming to a rolling stop. I used to be able to go into the theater knowing I was going to love whatever was on screen. Recently, I have found myself constantly disappointed. I used to see Marvel’s new movie the day it was released. Ant-Man: Quantumania released over a month ago and I have not gone to see it due to the bad reviews.
Quality over quantity. Movies and shows are meant to be savored. Time should be allowed for movies and TV shows to be perfected for audiences. For too long, movies and series have felt rushed due to the new culture of Hollywood to produce as many things as possible. Even though media has the ability to rapidly be produced, does not mean it should.