A Missed Opportunity

Does anyone else think International Treasure is a way better title, and more fun, than Nation Treasure: Book Of Secrets?

Mini-Rant: I AM SO SICK OF SEEING "BANK GOTHIC" FONT! It is used everywhere, and was made popular several years ago by being the official font of "24." Now this, The Kingdom, "Battlestar: Galactica" (closing credits), The Day After Tomorrow, The Matrix films, and plenty of other film/tv projects are using it. Yes, it looks cool, but c'mon, it's way overexposed, and is starting to feel predicable and cliché.

Observation: Disney isn't too hip on numbering sequels these days. It isn't National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, just like we didn't get Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End. My read is that a numbered sequel (especially done with numerics instead of roman numerals) feels finite and tacked on; as if the producers were stretching the original conept to expand the story. Numbering may also imply a continued storyline... as if we expect to see the original plot points developed further.

The "colon-ized" sequel title seems to lend a more serialized vibe to a film franchise. This is the next set of National Treasure adventure. That tradition goes all the way back to Raiders of the Lost Ark and its colon-ized "Indiana Jones and" sequels.

But... Star Wars, the ultimate serial adventure of our era, is a weird combination of both approaches— or at least it was ret-conned into being a hybrid later on, with Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. And comic books, which number issue but don't usually number story arcs, get translated into numeric film franchises regularly: Spier-Man 1, 2, & 3, Superman 1, 2, 3, & 4, X-Men 1 & 2, they all eschew straight colon-ized serialization, even when they come from truly serialized sources.

Interesting. I can't say I have final thoughts on that matter, beyond that Disney's two flagship franchises (of the moment) both title their entries the same.

Happy October everyone!