2024: A Year Of Remakes and Sequels or A Triumphant Celebration of Cinema?

30/12/2024

Alexandra Pullen and Sarah Gent unpack the past year in film

Article Image

Image by IMDb

By Alexandra Pullen and Sarah Gent

Looking back on this year, there have been many wonderful film releases and we have found ourselves at the pictures much more than ever before. After the obvious effects that COVID-19 and the SAG-AFTRA strike had on the film industry, it’s safe to say that cinema is making a comeback.

AP: The pop of pink which illuminated cinemas in 2023 with the release of Barbie was carried on into this year with the musical adaptation of Mean Girls. There were some questionable decisions made in this film beginning with the casting of protagonist Cady, but when it comes to Reneé Rapp as Regina George and Auli’i Cravalho as Janis Ian, the pair were amazing. It’s no surprise really, with Rapp playing George in the Broadway musical and Cravalho having years of experience in the field. However, I think I can confidently say that this adaptation didn’t even come close to the standard set by the original 2004 film.

SG: Elsewhere, January started with a bang with Anyone But You; while it technically released last year, people were flooding to the cinema to watch it in 2024. It was the perfect modern rom com we have been needing. As an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, it proved  once again that we can’t escape Shakespeare’s classic stories.

AP: I myself recreated a Barbenheimer-like double bill to begin 2024. Before watching Anyone But You, a modern classic of the rom-com genre which made everyone appreciate a bit of Natasha Bedingfield, I braved All of Us Strangers, a heartbreaking romance/fantasy starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal as the protagonists. Adam (Scott) grapples with the loss of his parents but finds himself able to visit them in his childhood home, as if nothing has changed. Adam’s relationship with Harry (Mescal) makes him look deeper into his own identity and sexuality, as moments of meaningful dialogue explore what words such as “gay” and “queer” meant in the UK in the 1980s. Like many films in 2024, the soundtrack is fantastic, featuring several ‘80s British bangers such as ‘Always On My Mind’ by Pet Shop Boys, ‘The Power Of Love’ by Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Alison Moyet’s ‘Is This Love?’ The small cast, mainly consisting of Scott, Mescal, Claire Foy as Mum and Jamie Bell as Dad were all incredible and like many others, I did not leave the cinema with dry eyes. Paul Mescal always knows how to make me cry.

SG: Off to a great start, my standards were set high, so I was not disappointed by one of my next trips to see Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. A film where Zendaya is at the centre of a love triangle was always going to be a hit; I had seen nothing but excitement and brilliant reviews, but it blew my expectations out of the water. I can’t say that Wimbledon has ever had me on the edge of my seat but Challengers makes a game of tennis very intense. The movie does not have a linear structure by any means, constantly flashing forwards and backwards, thickening the plot so seamlessly that it is impossible not to be completely hooked. If you haven’t seen Challengers already, I strongly recommend giving it a watch. I cannot fault this film.

AP: I couldn’t get enough of the Challengers score after watching the film, to the point where I was using it as a study soundtrack (intense, I know). But not many can compose a score like the one and only Hans Zimmer. He hit the nail on the head once again this year with Dune: Part Two, where we continued the journey of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) on a quest for revenge against those who destroyed his family. While I am not the biggest fan of sci-fi and admittedly found  it quite difficult to follow, Denis Villeneuve’s beautifully crafted sequel is visually stunning with amazing sets, costumes and effects. However, at a whopping two hours and 47 minutes, it did feel as though the pacing of the film drags in moments.

SG: The blockbuster of the summer has to be Twisters. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell star in a thrilling, action packed remake of the 1996 film Twister. I was completely gripped throughout and it was perfectly executed. Every choice made was the right one. Controversially, their kiss was cut from the movie. The two leads filmed a kiss but producer Steven Spielberg suggested it shouldn’t be used, and who’s going to argue with him? I think this was definitely the right decision as it stopped the film feeling like a rom-com and would’ve taken away from what it is really about, Kate’s returned passion for the thing she loves, not who she falls in love with. Daisy Edgar-Jones spoke in an interview with Collider saying  “This isn’t the end of their story. They’re united by their shared passion for something”. Closing the film with the two of them running off to battle their next tornado was much more satisfying to me than ending it with a kiss. Twisters didn’t seem to be as popular as I think it deserved to be. If you haven’t seen it, definitely give it a watch. With a great cast, lots of action and country music – what’s not to love?

AP: Another hit was Inside Out 2. While being another sequel, something we seem to have become very familiar with hitting our screens in the past few years, this film delivered everything I wanted and more to the much-loved Inside Out film of my childhood. It’s another one which made me tear up in the cinema, as it is so clear that the filmmakers know their audience. We follow Riley as she navigates the whirlwind of her teenage years, something all young viewers off the first film can resonate with, and of course with that, new emotions are introduced; Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment join the control room of the protagonist’s brain which causes some chaos with our original lineup. This also made for some hilarious reviews on Letterboxd with people pointing out potentially missing emotions. I thought that the pacing was great, but what made the film shine was its writing with touching scenes between the emotions encapsulating what it's like to be a teen.

AP: Summer ended with a flurry of new psychological thrillers. Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice was a successfully unsettling and strange film starring her ex-fiancé Channing Tatum as the tech billionaire Slater King and the amazing Naomi Ackie as main character Frida. The film takes elements from many recent thrillers such as Get Out, The Menu and Saltburn and adds modern twists to them while incorporating very dark themes with heightened tension and intrigue. On a similar note, Skincare is a bizarre and almost jarring comment on the beauty and aesthetics industry. When Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks) is faced with a rival boutique, her plans to take over the world of skincare are stunted as she is sabotaged by a mysterious figure. Banks was great in this, but the intended audience was unclear: a millennial film injected with attempts to appeal to a youthful audience. One of the most disappointing releases of the year for me was M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap. If this was to be anything like his previous films The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, it would have been a hit, but it wasn’t. The concept of the film, a serial killer and his innocent daughter are trapped in a staged concert to catch the criminal, could have been interesting but the general execution of the plot, the writing and dialogue and the performances themselves were weak.

SG: A year for sequels, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was everything I hoped it would be, if not more. Michael Keaton is still absolutely brilliant; you wouldn’t know he was 35 years older than in the original. I would argue that this is one of the rare cases where the sequel is better, there were several intertwining storylines which were emotional, hilarious and extremely entertaining, something which perhaps the original lacks in comparison. Quite often when films make modern references to do with social media, they feel very forced and out of place, yet Beetlejuice Beetlejuice manages to successfully include these whilst making fun at the same time. Beetlejuice sings about his past lovers, Willem Dafoe plays a dead actor who is playing the role of a policeman in the afterlife and Winona Ryder still has a horrendous haircut. Tim Burton struggles to make a bad film but he has really outdone himself here, an amazing sequel that makes you laugh, cry, and everything in between.

AP: My favourite horror film of 2024 was easily Longlegs. Directed by Oz Perkins, son of legendary actor Anthony Perkins, the promotional buzz surrounding the film did not disappoint. There were times when I could not take my eyes off the screen, even when the visceral images were incredibly disturbing. Nicholas Cage’s performance as the main villain is incredibly intense and frightening and Maika Monroe was amazing as Agent Harker.

SG: In a similar fashion to Barbenheimer, Glicked hit the cinemas this year. Wicked: Part One and Gladiator II both came out on 22 November, however it’s quite obvious which was the most popular.

If you have been living under a rock, Wicked is the film adaptation of the stage musical, following the lives of the witches of The Wizard of Oz. As a big fan of the original musical, I have been buzzing for this adaptation to finally be released. Ariana Grande was the most perfect casting for Glinda, I genuinely couldn’t think of anyone else who could’ve possibly played the role as well as she did. Cynthia Erivo also wowed, but seeing her performance in The Colour Purple are we really surprised? I cannot fault this film, apart from the fact that we have to wait a whole year for Part Two! Every element of Wicked was brilliant, from the casting, to the stunning costumes, the fabulous set and cameos from Broadway’s original Glinda (Kristin Chenoworth) and Elphaba (Idina Menzel), I will definitely be rewatching. Even if you can’t stand musicals, Wicked is an impressive watch, Dorothy doesn’t know who she’s messing with.

AP: Alternatively, I am yet to watch Gladiator II but the original 2000 film is a must-see in my family. Over two decades down the line though, it doesn’t seem like the sequel is holding up to be as impressive.

2024 has been an interesting year in cinema. We see the continuing trend of sequels, remakes and adaptations, and it has really been a mixed bag. The likes of Mean Girls, Gladiator II and A Quiet Place: One Day have been disappointing. On the other side of the coin, Inside Out 2, Twisters and Anyone But You add a fantastic developed twist onto much-loved classics. Highlights of 2024 include Challengers, Wicked and Longlegs and while these have been huge successes, the recurring theme of the same stories being churned out again and again is becoming a bit tiring. We look forward to what 2025 has to bring though, with We Live In Time and Nosferatu on New Year’s Day alone looking promising.