By Jennifer Larson
It seems the public can’t get enough of evil flesh-eating zombies. USATODAY.com
reports that “RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION has broken its own record, which was $23 million for the debut of the second edition, RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALPSE, by raking in $24 million for the third installment.” Could this mean that there will be a fourth one? It looks likely, even though EXTINCTION has been billed as the finale. In fact, Rory Bruer, Sony’s head of distribution said, “a fourth installment absolutely would not surprise me considering the success of the franchise.”
This is great news for anybody who loves watching sexy, badass women kick some zombie butt. And by the looks of things, that’s a lot of people. However, this does give me some cause for concern. I mean I’m all for keeping a good story alive – I’m a huge HARRY POTTER fan myself – but there are so many movies out there that are just rehashing old material. I don’t mind a sequel or two, even a prequel now and again is ok, but I look to Hollywood to fulfill my entertainment fantasies. Call me crazy, but isn’t Hollywood supposed to be known for creativity and innovation? Ok, we are still getting that, but knowing that money is always the bottom line, I just get a little nervous when I start to see nothing but continuing storylines covering my movie landscape.
There are millions of wannabe screenwriters out there, and I say let’s have a look at what stories lie within their minds. Turning a hit movie into a franchise is fine, as long as it doesn’t cause us to miss out on incredible new ideas. Unfortunately, I’m afraid it has, and I believe we all lose out in that scenario. I mean I love lobster tails, but I wouldn’t want to eat it everyday. I like to have a nice juicy cheeseburger, every now and again as well. it’s all about variety, and having nothing but sequels to choose from at the box office gives me very little of that. That being said, I give credit where it is due, and RESIDENT EVIL appears to have a very loyal fan base, so really who am I to say they are wrong?