(CS: It has been a long time since I reposted an old Collective Publishing Pop Culture column, so why not start 2025 by doing just that. Sadly, there are quite a few that seem to have been lost to the abyss, so I'll likely finish up this series this year.)
If you frequent pop culture and film sites you’ll quickly notice 2014 seems to be the year of the movie anniversary. Several movies have been celebrated for entering into the 25th or 30th or even 40th year. Some film studios have even jumped into the action by releasing re-mastered versions of popular past pictures like Ghostbusters (30th), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (40th), and A Hard Day’s Night (50th) into selected cinemas. (CS: To make yourself feel old, now add eleven more years to those movies in 2025) All the nostalgia can sometimes lead to headache inducing modern griping about how movies just aren’t as good as they used to.
While there are many great classics from decades ago, 2014 has presented a strong summer season with smart and cerebral special effect spectaculars like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, uplifting and energetic indy pictures like Chef, and exciting and nuanced family adventures like How to Train Your Dragon 2. But some still yearn for the past, so it is time dial back 25 years to 1989. A time when a young Christopher believed WWF wrestling to be the best sport in the world and a hard day’s work was having to put away my He-Man and the Masters of the Universe action figures. Many my age fondly think back about the summer pictures released that year.
Part of the nostalgia likely is a result that everything just seems more magical during your childhood. (CS: There is actually a psychological study where they found what you determine as the 'good old days' is usually your childhood.) It is this very thing that for years tricked me into thinking 1980s cartoons were superior to what is created now, until I made the mistake of watching Teletoon Retro and having my fond memories of Transformers and Thundercats shattered into a million pieces. (CS: Sorry, they are not good.) Also 1989 was right around the time that my peers were nearing the age of being able to go out to the cinema to watch movies with their friends rather than with parents. Though, I don’t think I pulled off that feat in 1989, but I definitely was old enough to ride my bike to the local video store (remember them?) and rent the movies once they came out.
It was a summer where my peers and I were at the age targeted by the marketing for the big summer tentpoles. My friends and I soaked up the advertising and hype, and salivated for the arrival of the hotly anticipated movies. It is those days of yearning and excitement that elevates these pictures in the nostalgic mind to the point of likely thinking many of these movies were more spectacular than they actually turned out to be. It was also a time when the sequels being trotted out were to original movies that had the distinction of being some of the first pictures I ever saw at the cinema.
Wait, did I just say sequels?
Oh yes , the thing that people whine about as one of the annoying modern ills of current cinema. The reality is that things like sequels and remakes have been around long before the existence of cinema and definitely been a part of filmmaking since its inception. Everyone knows the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz but before that iconic picture was even thought about being filmed, there were several versions made in the prior decades. Universal Pictures for close to five decades had a reputation for popping out monster movies starring Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Wolf Man, and others that can all boast more sequels than any of the Marvel comic book movies. (CS: That might not be the case anymore -- at least, for Universal specific monster movies.)
Sequels have always been around, but the summer of 1989 was a pretty clear sign that studios were desperate trying to milk as much money as possible from popular franchises. The movie industry has always been a business, and most studio executives want to find a sure-fire hit, which for many means sequels to a past popular work. It may happen more often now than most any other time, but that has more to do with the fact they’ve mastered the formula and been more successful in dragging out a franchise. (CS: It has got much more prevelant since 2014, and I may be haunted now of my defense of modern cinema.)
Most of the eagerly awaited pictures of the summer of 1989 were sequels to movies I loved. Movie franchises that returned to try to draw out their fans once again included Indiana Jones, Star Trek, Ghostbusters, Karate Kid, Lethal Weapon, James Bond, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Some of those would spawn many more sequels, and others likely would have if they were better received (and others just ended up being stalled for a decade or two for various reasons).
The practice of mining past hits has been a Hollywood tradition for a long time. The major difference is many of these sequels were poor imitations of the successful original, while this year’s sequels to X-Men and 21 Jump Street had stories that justified making another chapter. (CS: Oh wait 2014 Christopher, the era of shameless cash grab sequels was on its way soon enough.) It may get tiring seeing the same franchise over and over, at least it is no longer a guarantee that the next chapter will be a disappointment that just does the same story over again.
I hear a few of you in the back screaming that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Lethal Weapon 2 were great movies that favourably compare to the original. You’re right. As your reward, I won’t force you to re-watch Ghostbusters 2 or Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier (which lies to you right in the title).
The movie that best resembles modern cinema and a picture that deserves some credit (and blame) for shaping studios’ modern perceptions of tentpoles is the highest grossing picture of 1989, Batman.
Batman was not even close to being the first picture based on an already established property nor was it the first ever big-budget comic book picture. It was definitely one of the first non-sequel pictures that rode almost a year worth of buzz and hype to erupt far past being a major motion picture and into a must-see event. Marketing and merchandise had long been a major part of big summer motion pictures, but Batman perfected the art by making sure you’d see the logo everywhere from TV specials, music videos, Happy Meals, chip bags, action figures, and sporting events. This was a comic book movie that wasn’t just hoping to attract loyal fans but also draw in massive mainstream audiences based on the fact it was about a recognizable piece of pop culture. Considering it was the undisputed box office champion of the year and spawned several sequels, it was a clear success.
There are a few other modern trends that Batman shaped. I stated before that Batman wasn’t the first picture to be based on an already established brand and there had been major successes in the past, it became such an overwhelming success that it triggered most studios to try to find other well-known (and even mostly forgotten) properties to turn into massive blockbusters. For the next several years, studios scoured comic book and pulp fiction history to find other once popular heroes that could launch their own franchise, such as Dick Tracy, The Shadow, The Phantom, The Rocketeer, Men in Black, and The Crow. (CS: To be fair, the latter three were contemporary cult hits rather than works from the past.)Studios were ignoring the fact that almost nobody remembered the 1930s comic and pulp serials of The Shadow or that The Phantom wasn’t in the same league as Batman, (CS: I should note the Phantom predates Batman and was a massive influence on many superheroes that were created during the golden age of comics) because studios were hoping what they perceived as a comic book craze meant anything vaguely associated with it would become an instant hit. (CS: Things don't change. Oh hi, Kraven.) It was part of the “I think I’ve heard of it, so I’d love to pay to see it” strategy of brand association used by movie studios that has increased over the decades (it is why there recently has been cinematic adaptions of The Lone Ranger and Battleship).
It wasn’t just adapting comic book movies that became the hot new craze, but anything that could possibly attract the coveted demographics (which is often teenage boys). For the next several years live-action adaptions of anything even considered vaguely popular (or was once popular) were served up, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Flintstones, Super Mario Bros., The Addams Family, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Brady Bunch, The Fugitive, Casper, and Flipper. (CS: Not all targeting teenage boys, obviously.) During this phase, there is also a good chance there were a stream of movies that I’m completely unaware were adaptions of once-popular comics or TV shows or cleaning products. Of course, this has once again become a major hobby of film studios, and even to the point some of these mentioned franchises are being adapted once again. (CS: We've had at least three of those remade recently, and I am sure others are on the way. Or at least, destined to be a streaming series.)
Batman was a picture that convinced studios the brand was more important than the star. Many fans were outraged went Michael Keaton, largely a star in comedies prior to this, was cast in the lead. It proved that it didn’t matter as it wasn’t sold on his name but rather the Batman franchise. Pictures heavily promoted on the star still existed after Batman, and that summer there were a few that were essentially considered star-vehicles like Pink Cadillac (Clint Eastwood), Dead Poet’s Society (Robin Williams), and Uncle Buck (John Candy). Now, most movies sold on a star are typically comedies like Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) and Think Like a Man Too (Kevin Hart). (CS: And now a comedy getting a theatrical release is close to Dodo bird status.) Batman showed the brand name can exceed star power, and now tentpoles rely more on the property than the stars involved (and non-comedy star-powered pictures surprisingly have been relegated to independent features in the summer now).
Prior to Batman, tentpole pictures would earn their massive grosses over a long haul. Pictures like E.T., Star Wars, and Back to the Future spent almost half a year in the cinemas, and in some cases were re-released a few times. Movies were given several weeks or even months to discover an audience since there wasn’t the same pressure of so many competing forms of entertainment. Batman had a massive opening weekend, but then experienced a significant drop, since it seemed everyone that really wanted to see it had flocked to the cinemas right away. It started creating a mentality that movies lived and died by how they opened, and pictures started remaining in cinemas for a shorter period of a time. Now, a picture that doesn’t make back most of budget on its opening weekend is considered a flop, since there is little confidence that it can build momentum. (CS: The shortening of the theatrical window to digital rental release has only exasperated that problem.)
The summer of 1989 did bring about some pictures that are very rare today. It would be very unlikely that a movie like Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing would get distributed by a major studio now. Though to be fair, the drama about race relations was incredibly unique and ground-breaking back then too. There has rarely been a movie that has delivered a message with the power of Do the Right Thing. It hits you at a hard emotional level, but avoided being didactic, despite leaving you with lots to discuss. It could be considered inspiration for important movies like Boyz N the Hood or American History X, but nothing has quite captured the charm and depth of this very important movie. It could be argued that a picture with this level of challenging material would never get a shot outside of an independent label in the modern cinematic environment, especially in the summer months, and the miniscule distribution of movies like last year’s Fruitvale Station would be proof. (CS: Now it wouldn't even get a theatrical release and instead either be dropped on streaming or be turned into a miniseries.)
Comedies still remain a pretty important part of the summer season, as this year has had several. Summer of 1989 reveals a sub-genre that has almost disappeared in the romantic comedy as When Harry Met Sally. . . was not only a big hit but the 11th highest grossing movie of the year. (CS: Romantic comedies seem to have made a small comeback and one of the comedies that do get some theatrical releases.)
A totally different genre but also almost as dead is the slasher that at the time was a steady summer hit with that year having A Nightmare Elm Street: Dream Child and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Take Manhattan. (CS: Another subgenre to make a massive comeback recently.) The disappearance of both sub-genres is an example of studios shifting how they attempt to appeal to the demographics that once frequented these kinds of movies. Tammy with a predominantly female cast would try to lure in the women, and Deliver Us from Evil is an example of how supernatural horror purporting to be based on a true tstories now reels in the scary movie lovers.
I’m not going to try to compare 1989 summer pictures to 2014 summer pictures. It would be unfair since I haven’t seen most of the older movies in years, and I would be judging them on the fondness I shared during my childhood. It is easy to declare something a classic when it has had decades to simmer. I’m sure in 25 years there will be film buffs lamenting the current state of cinema and fondly thinking back to movies like The Fault in Our Stars, Edge of Tomorrow, and Neighbours while whining how they just don’t make movies like that anymore. Of course, they will probably be wrong too. (CS: We can declare Edge of Tomrorow a classic now, right?)
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