Too Many Sequels
One of the diseases of the modern filmmaker is the need to make sequels to a film. In and of itself a sequel is not necessarily a bad thing and sometimes can be better than the original film.
The problem arises when the company decides that in the name of profit they are going to just keep pumping out films and to hell with the quality. Here is a short stream of consciousness list of movies that went astray.
Jaws– A classic film and a classic soundtrack. Without Jaws we wouldn’t have had the fun of watching spin-off flick Orca. Of course we wouldn’t have been subjected to such horrific movies as Jaws IV.
Revenge of The Nerds– The first one was ok and kind of fun but by the time they got to number 4 it was just painful.
Police Academy– First movie was fine. It wasn’t spectacular but it was enjoyable. If I am not mistaken they are still making these films. Police Academy 27 rolls out later this week.
Rocky– I admit to having enjoyed each one, but by the time they reached Rocky 49 I was just bored beyond belief.
Batman– The Batman series as done by Tim Burton was never great and at times rarely good. The first one was enjoyable in part because of the novelty but Batman and Robin was horrible. On the other hand Batman Begins was excellent.
Analyze This– Ok, Deniro and Crystal pulled off a few laughs in this one but the sequel Analyze That was so bad SAG threatened to pull their cards.
What do you think?
Jack's Shack June 23, 2006 at 12:16 am
Elie,
Good point. A Multi movie series is a different story.
BG,
The 3D one was comical.
Leaf,
That is a good question. We’ll have to try and figure out how many good sequels have been made.
SI,
Remakes are often just horrible. I agree.
JF,
Lethal Weapon 666 coming soon to a theater near you.
Elster,
Money does seem to drive everything.
Rebecca,
They are few and far between.
DR,
Newman should.
Bonnie,
Disney is a prime offender.
Bonnie B June 22, 2006 at 10:52 pm
Why must they make sequels? Now Disney is making truly horrible sequels to fairy tales– those are by far the worst. I couldn’t tell you about any actual movie sequels from the last seven years because the last movie I saw in the theater was Bagger Vance– i think.
But those Disney videos keep on coming. I think I’m losing it. there is actually a sequel to bambi.
dorothy rothschild June 22, 2006 at 8:42 pm
I don’t go see sequels. I also don’t like all this remaking films that were just fine the first time, like The Omen. I recently read that Paul Newman is ready to put the smackdown on Affleck and Damon, who have been making noise about remaking Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. What do those pups think they could bring to it that Newman and Redford didn’t?
Rebecca June 22, 2006 at 8:11 pm
I completely agree and most of the time sequels are terrible!! Meet the falkers was good though…
Elster June 22, 2006 at 7:28 pm
You hit the naio on the head. Sequels are purely money driven. Though to be fair, Jaws II was pretty goo too.
The Jewish Freak June 22, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Lethal Weapon. If I see one of those movies again I will have to set myself on fire.
StepIma June 22, 2006 at 6:07 pm
Sequels are generally awful, but “franchises” are the worst – when they go in knowing they’re going to be making more, before they even know if the first one is any good or if anyone wants to watch it. ick.
But as bad as they are, I think I like sequels better than remakes.
Leaf June 22, 2006 at 3:28 pm
For the most part sequels suck but every once in a while they are great movies in their own right. Some special cases they may even be better than the original. Actually you can probably count all the good sequels on one hand. And the market is flooded with franchises now, the movie industry is falling apart.
BarnGoddess June 22, 2006 at 3:02 pm
I agree..sequels suck. Jaws was the ultimate thriller, I cannot handle watching ANY of the sequels, that was a big mistake (especially the 3D one!)
Elie June 22, 2006 at 1:39 pm
In general sequels are not up to the original. The exception is when a multi-movie series is planned in the first place – e.g., the original Star Wars trilogy, or Superman I and II which were originally one long movie. But in most other cases, even when the sequel is half-decent – e.g., Rocky II and III, BTTF II and III, – it’s never close to the original’s level of quality.