Faceoff: Old or new movies
Are old or new movies better?
Design by Manha Survery and Gus Silva
Old movies
Manha Survery, Editor-In-Chief
What makes a good movie? Some may say it comes down to the acting, the dialogue, the visuals, or the direction. It is a little bit of all of that, but there are certain traits of a movie that pinpoint its quality.
Since the 2000s, filmmaking has taken a somewhat backward step. An article written by movie critic Russell Matthews from Thirdspace.org.au, an Australian organization in which communities connect on certain topics, one of them being film, tried to figure out why movies like "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Godfather" continue to be at the top of numerous movie lists. The articled deduced that there are three main requirements (which I agree with) that deem a film great: the movie is artistically satisfying, it's re-watchable or shareable, and it holds a great story at its core. As an avid movie watcher, I can attest that since the year 2010, movies are rolling downhill. In fact, I would go as far as to say they feel stuffed with company sponsorships, the same contemporary style lighting, and shallow characters.
An artistically satisfying movie contains intentional cinematography, editing, and music. A few movies that display this excellently are "The Devil Wears Prada", "Ocean's Eleven", and "The Dark Knight". These movies contain iconic scenes that are still referenced to this day due to their harmonious choice of music, camera angles, and wardrobe. For example, no matter how many time I watch, the debut scene of Miranda Priestly as she enters the office of Runway Magazine in "The Devil Wears Prada" will never fail to amaze me. A movie that immediately comes to mind as not artistically satisfying is the movie "It Ends With Us". Blake Lively's outfits were not pleasing to the eye of most and the dialogue and acting felt awkward throughout the film.
Movies should also be rewatchable and shareable. This means when a person watches the movie, they would gladly rewatch it or want to share it with their family and friends. A few movies that are my favorite to rewatch are "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants", "Ratatouille", "The Amazing Spiderman", "The Shawshank Redemption", and "Save the Last Dance". All of these films released before 2010. These movies are all engaging
The last requirement for a good movie is that it holds a great story at its core. If a movie does not have a cohesive and engaging story, character development, and the ability to keep the audience entertained, then there is no point in investing in a movie for that story. On top of that, even if there is a good story, without intention and direction, it means nothing.
I am not saying that there have been no good movies that have come out since 2010. There have been many. For example, the movie "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" can make its audience a bit confused. However, due to its core story and its artistically sophisticated direction, it works out well in the end as a heartfelt and deep coming-of-age story. Going on, I have watched "Crazy Rich Asians" a good 15 times, loved the recent live action "How to Train Your Dragon", and adore the Pixar movie "Soul", along with many others made in 2010 and after.
Since 2010, the quality of movies overall has gone downhill. Movies released grow less and less satisfactory each year. Many times it feels like the movie was not thought through enough before its direction started. Due to this, the movie ends up disjointed and messy. I understand that coming up with new ideas is hard, but more intention and structure in movies remains crucial.
New
Gus Silva, Staff Writer
"Avengers" (2012), "Avatar: The Way of Water"(2022), "Parasite"(2019), "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie" (2025), and "Spider-Man:No Way Home".
All of these movies aired in the last decade and a half and classify as new movies made with advanced technology, such as CGI (computer-generated imagery).
This new visual technology has brought in a hefty revenue to movie companies, and surpass their older counterparts. This is also due to things such as box office, theatrical releases and streaming debuts.
Despite the fact that many people say that new movies have lost their spark and are much inferior to older movies such as "Titanic" (1997), "The Godfather"(1972), and "12 Angry Men"(1957). Even though these movies are icons, and function as blueprints for newer movies , they do not outshine newer movies.
One of the most prominent elements that make newer movies better than older movies is the implementation of CGI. The article The Use of CGI Technology in Modern Filmmaking states that CGI is a computer program that is used to create scenes digitally, and can even replicate cityscapes and other scenery. This technology saw its first use in the 1958 movie Vertigo, with a spiral effect at the beginning of the movie. Since then, it has evolved to the point of being able to make the fictitious feel and look tangible.
This technological advancement improved realism in movies. One example of this is in "Doctor Strange" (2016). I have personally rewatched this movie many times, and every time I do, I feel submersed in the mystical scenes. Among the scenes of this movie, one of them stands at the pinnacle, for it perfectly represents the advancement of CGI and other forms of film technology. The scene is where the Ancient One fights Kaelicius and his zealots in the mirror dimension. Throughout the fight, all of the buildings are flipped over as reflections of themselves in the normal world. Even as this set is obviously not real and is computer-generated, the CGI is so expertly used that it seems existent.
The fact that many people think that older movies are better is common knowledge. Because of this, I would like to propose that older movies are better used as bases for the newer movies. Also, that the first of any invention is never the best, always requiring improvement. For example, the 2014 film Pants on Fire took heavy inspiration from the original film "Gaslight"(1944) which was the movie that introduced the term "gaslight" into American culture. In the newer film, the main protagonist creates a fake persona to get himself out of trouble and lies to convince everyone. This is a picture-perfect example of gaslighting. Gaslight set the word into culture by a man telling his wife that a gaslight is off while they are in fact on. Movies now may take inspiration from older movies, but they built up better ideas from the baseline. This leads to originality in the end even if it is dependent on older ideas and pieces of art.
