Best/Worst Movie Sequels

[TheeGoatPig]

We have all seen a movie or two right? I would also imagine that most of us have seen a few sequels in our time. While most movie sequels can be quite droll, and even quite terrible, I would like to hear about some of the better movie sequels that you have seen, and what made them so great. Hell, I would even like to hear about the horrible ones, and what they did wrong to make them so horrible.

I will reveal my best/worst movie sequels after a few other posts so that my choices aren't debated endlessly without anything new being added to the table (which tends to happen when I start topics with an example at the beginning ).

 

[DesertPirate]

Caddyshack II

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Jurassic Park II.


Bleagh!

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Caddyshack II

Jurassic Park II.


Bleagh!

Yes, and?

 

[kaithel]

Indiana Jones:

Temple of Doom - thumbs down
Last Crusade - thumbs up
Crystal skull - thumbs plunging through the floor

As to why, well:

Temple of Doom was OK, but was hurt by the Disney-esque "buddy" character and the fact that the lead actress wasn't nearly as good as the one from the first movie.

Last Crusade, Sean Connery was epicly good casting, and the chemistry between Ford and Connery was very convincing as a father-son pair. Plus, there were a lot of nice tongue-in-cheek moments. ("We named the dog 'Indy'" and "No ticket" readily spring to mind...)

The Crystal Skull just kind of defines the classic pain of "taking a good thing one big step too far in the interests of making scads of money."

 

[kaithel]

Not sure it really counts as "sequels," but I found all 3 of the LOTR movies pretty comparably good.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Conan the Barbarian II


Bleagh!

 

[voluptuary_manque]

On the other hand, Men In Black II?


Oh, yeah!

 

[Boxlicker101]

"Every Which Way You Can"

 

[TheeGoatPig]

So I take it no one wants to divulge why these are good or bad sequels?

 

[michchick98]

All the Die Hard sequels? Yeah, they rock!

All the Lethal Weapon sequels? Ditto!

Why? Because they had as much action and humor as the originals. JMO.

I'll have to give the worst sequels some thought, but I know I've seen my fair share of those as well.

 

[kaithel]

So I take it no one wants to divulge why these are good or bad sequels?

OK, well, I updated at least ONE of my posts above.

 

[TE999]

Terminator II...better than the original.
Terminator III...pretty good, but not great...enough already.

A totally bad sequel...sorta...was the Lone Ranger Movie...it sucked out loud...the tv show was much better.

What also sucked were those live action based on the cartoon movies...Flintstones, George of the Jungle, Inspector Gadget, Speed Racer, Mr. Magoo...who the fuck thot those would be winners?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Tom, for the most part I agree heartily, but "George of the Jungle" was howlingly funny, IMO. The sly references countered the fart jokes aimed at the six year olds. HM and I could hardly breathe through that one and that line "What is it about chicks and horses?" . . . I almost blacked out!

 

[JamesSD]

Godfather II is the quintessential: Quite possibly better than the original

Empire Strikes Back also is arguably better than Star Wars: A New Hope


Bad Sequels? God, I could wear myself out. We're looking for a case where the original is a great movie, and the sequel is terrible, derivative, unnecessary, and almost hurts your enjoyment of the original. Still, I'm going to skip the straight to video sequels it doesn't even seem they were trying (Cruel Intentions 2 anyone?) I'm also going to avoid cases where a franchise had 2-3 good movies before the true stinker came out...

So, I guess I'll take...
The Blues Brothers 2000

I love the Blues Brothers. It's silly, but fun and funny and you can rewatch it again and again.

I'm not sure why Blues Brothers 2000 was made. John Belushi is dead. I like John Goodman, but the role seemed oddly unsuited for him, possibly the shoes were just too big to fill. And a 10 year old kid? Oh god, the horror.

There have been worse "sequels", but in terms of a movie that didn't need a sequel and said sequel was bad, I pick Blues Brothers 2000.

 

[3113]

X-men

X-Men I--good--it was true to the characters, but as a first movie had to introduce everyone.

X-Men II--Brilliant--didn't have to introduce characters and so could spend tie developing them. Also it maintained a wonderful theme of finding ones true self, true family, and true power. Almost every major character is searching for one or all three and each finds their own answer. Besides, it ends with a hint of the rise of Phoenix, very exciting.

X-Men III Piss poor! With all the promise of X-Men II, they dropped the Phoenix ball. Dropped it, broke it, destroyed it.

 

[TE999]

Tom, for the most part I agree heartily, but "George of the Jungle" was howlingly funny, IMO. The sly references countered the fart jokes aimed at the six year olds. HM and I could hardly breathe through that one and that line "What is it about chicks and horses?" . . . I almost blacked out!

I never watched any of that genre' on general principle...but you say there were fart jokes in George of the Jungle? I may have to rent that one.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I never watched any of that genre' on general principle...but you say there were fart jokes in George of the Jungle? I may have to rent that one.

And there are references to classic TV commercials, Fabio, The Lion King . . . and watching Shep the Elephant scratch his ear like a dog? Priceless!

 

[slyc_willie]

I have to echo a couple things listed above.

Both Lethal Weapon II and Terminator II surpassed the originals they followed. In the case of Lethal Weapon, the first one was damn good, but the second really got into the meat of the characters. Martin Riggs was more than just a one-man killing machine with an ambiguous (and contrived -- as far as action movies go) past, he was a one-man killing machine with a savage heart that found more than dispensing death as a means of expressing himself. Oh, and Patsy Kensit was just plain fuckin' hot.

Terminator II . . . Regardless of the plot line, Arnie's star power, special effects and everything else going for it, Robert Patrick simply made that movie. I remember the interview he gave following the film's release, in which he described how it was to act like an inhuman robot. I give him extra kudos for being able to run full-tilt with a straight face.

Other good sequels:

Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness. Bruce Campbell is, and always will be, the king of B movies. Army of Darkness gives him the sceptre and the throne as far as I'm concerned. The various Carradine brothers have put up some good offerings, but Bruce is truly the best. He obviously does not think of himself as an actor, but rather a walking cult figure. God bless him.

Dawn Of The Dead: As far as zombie movies go, this has to be the best one. The story isn't about the zombies; they're just the backdrop against which a handful of men and women reveal and hold true to their sense of humanity. Okay, maybe that seems to be going a little far, but the diversity of characters and the way in which they react to the situation around them is very compelling. The last scene of the movie, with the boat driving away on the lake toward a sanctuary, while a last pistol shot rings out . . . it's cinematic fatalism at its best. Ol' George Romero is rightly proud of the flick.

Not much I can expand upon regarding bad sequels as listed above. The second Conan movie was anything but a continuation of the first, and anything beyond Terminator II is simply laughable. Although Terminator: Salvation may breathe a little life into the franchise, who knows? Methinks Hollywood is capitalizing on Christian Bale's star power, and cowering behind a barrage of special effects.

Although, if we can expand the scope of this thread to include reimaginings, I've always liked the old sci-fi cult flick "Battle Beyond The Stars" as an interesting remake of "The Magnificent Seven." Robert Vaughan even reprized his role.

 

[daintyfemme]

My Favorite sequels are Die Hard and Ocean's series (eleven, twelve, thirteen)

worst sequel? Spiderman and... Do you guys know The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards? it's horrible
and also the American Pie series

 

[michchick98]

What also sucked were those live action based on the cartoon movies...Flintstones, George of the Jungle, Inspector Gadget, Speed Racer, Mr. Magoo...who the fuck thot those would be winners?

I liked the first live action Flintstones movie, but I didn't think it deserved a sequel. I also liked George of the Jungle, but I agree with you on the others. I couldn't even finish watching Speed Racer.

Thankfully I'd found it in a $5 bin at Wal-Mart and ended up selling it on ebay only a few days later for twice that.

More rockin' sequels:

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde. However, I've seen previews for the latest sequel and that'll probably go on the worst sequels list.

Wayne's World and its sequel are two crappy movies that come to mind.

And I apologize for offending any fans, but I gotta say, the whole Austin Powers series sucks, too. I never got through the first movie so never even bothered with the sequels.

I read just a few posts back that someone mentioned the X-Men series. I loved all those movies and I can't wait to see Wolverine when it comes out. Although, Hugh Jackman could be the major reason I wanna see it. *swoon*

 

[michchick98]

worst sequel? Spiderman and... Do you guys know The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards? it's horrible
and also the American Pie series

I liked the Spider-man sequels, but I agree with you on The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards. The first was funny, but not nearly funny enough to merit a sequel.

 

[JagFarlane]

worst sequel? Spiderman and... Do you guys know The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards? it's horrible
and also the American Pie series

ugh, I have never been able to sit through Spiderman III, just irritates the hell out of me at least a quarter of the way through.

 

[daintyfemme]

ugh, I have never been able to sit through Spiderman III, just irritates the hell out of me at least a quarter of the way through.

yeah...
the 3rd is the worst..
but personally I don't really like Spidey movies anyway..
too much drama

 

[oggbashan]

The sixth (and worst) of a series of seven beach party movies:

How to Stuff A Wild Bikini

One star (Frankie Avalon) appears for only a few minutes. The other (Annette Funicello) is heavily pregnant, shot from the waist up while sitting, and is the sexiest babe on the beach...

Buster Keaton, however, is great at self-parody.

Og