> End result is everything gets boiled down to its rawest, most accessible elements and everything feels samey.

This is basically what is referred to in the industry as "high concept." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_concept

Bob Iger, Ex-CEO of Disney, was a big proponent of high concept movies. You can read more about it in the screenwriting book, Save the Cat. https://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp...

Allow me to ruin all Hollywood movies for you: "Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need". https://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp...

Once you read this, you'll start seeing that every popular movie today follows this guide, almost precisely to-the-minute. Book says "by page X of screenplay, Y should happen" and you'll see that it does.

Hollywood is mostly a system of aggregating tropes into stories. The minority sidekick, token minorities, the plucky Southern Women (Steel Magnolias? Really?), the imminint danger down to the second, etc. There is a book on movie plot writing called, "Save The Cat" that is the most insightful book I've read on that subject.

The plot of "Avatar" was depressingly cliche; a standard retelling of the standard action movie plot, done once again. The special effects made it worth seeing, twice for me. Rarely does a movie rise above such things.

http://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/...