Halloween (2018)
The most recent Halloween reboot, in a franchise that has seen a few of them, is probably the most drastic example of a franchise tossing its history to the curb. Not only does it throw out the most recent reboot/remake, it completely does away with ALL of the original sequels (even the first one overseen by John Carpenter).
Instead, Halloween acts as a direct sequel to the original film and the original film only. It even goes so far as to make cheeky references to plot points in the other sequels to laugh them off as untrue.
It’s a tactic that paid off in grand style. The excising of the franchise’s long-winded lore managed to make the story feel more personal once again, adding in a layer of fear and menace as the body count begins to pile up. Even as a horror movie weenie, I couldn’t help but find myself thoroughly engaged in the new story being told.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
For my money, the modern Planet of the Apes trilogy is one of the best trilogies of films around, and definitely within the past couple decades. Each film manages to be even better than the previous one, each telling compelling, heartfelt stories that work on their own.
One of the keys to its success is how it tackled the core concepts of the franchise, without tying itself down to the minutiae. Rise of the Planet of the Apes tells us the story of Caesar, the first Ape to gain true sentience and rise against human oppressors. He’s a character steeped in lore from the original franchise, and even a character in the last few films.
Rise takes those elements and turns them into something completely different, yet would fit in perfectly with the original film. Though it ignores much of the story told in the previous sequels, the references are everywhere. As such it managed to give the franchise room to expand once again, while appealing to all new audiences.
Honorable Mentions:
Superman Returns – I think it was an excellent follow-up to Superman II (ignoring 3 and 4), but it definitely failed to revitalize the franchise.
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors – Ignoring rushed sequel, Dream Warriors gave the slasher series legs.
Godzilla 2000 – Many might argue this as more of a reboot, but references to previous encounters and monsters has me counting this one.
Star Trek (2009) – Hard to count this one since it doesn’t so much ignore continuity as much as it twists it to tell a new story. Still good.
James Bond – I mean…come on.
Pretty Much Every Highlander Film After the Original – Can’t say there were “good” but some were more enjoyable than others.
The Predator – I enjoyed this latest reboot attempt.
I absolutely love the current state of storytelling, where so many things are interconnected. It makes for some engaging content that can be enjoyed over and over again. Even so, these films make a strong case for being able to tell unique stories without fretting over every single bit of continuity.
