Remakes or sequels carry a lot of weight with them, from people’s heightened expectations to others’ skepticism. Failure is almost the default expectation. So when a movie like J.J. Abrams’ first Star Trek came out in 2009, the impression that it captured the most beloved elements of the Star Trek universe and contemporized it beautifully was an overwhelmingly pleasant surprise, perhaps resulting in a response more positive that the movie would have merited in a vacuum. Trying to recreate that sense of triumph over such a challenge in the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness evidently proved too tall a task according to many, though it’s hard to blame Abrams for trying.
It’s a bit of a sliding scale where it can be more difficult in some ways to pull off a completely original story, but at the same time a portion of audiences will be pleased just by seeing something novel. Then again, while it may be perceived as easier to execute a story where the characters and even plot are already laid out, today’s savvy audiences are less confident in finding these rehashes satisfactory, so winning them over is a sign of real excellence, whether the first weekend box office numbers are evidence of this or not.
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