Sequels, yay or nay?Movies

[buickgnx88]

Movie sequels are one of those areas where they can be amazingly good, or just horribly bad. Sometimes the title name can be creative, other times the title is the same as the first but with a 2 (3, 4, etc) added at the end. Sequels also have the issue of what direction to go compared to the original. The smart option is to continue the path of the characters, with maybe a sprinkling of jokes/situations and phrases from the first film. The lazy option is of course to rehash the first, but change a couple things. The comedy genre seems to be the worst one when it comes to sequels, simply because the latter option is the easy route. The other issue with sequels is the time between releases which can have a negative effect towards the original.

Anchorman 2 is my example for the above items. It feels largely like a rehashed first movie, it was released seven years after the first, and to me all the characters just seem dumber and the plot all disjointed. I love the first movie, and can't stand the second.

Wayne's World 2 is my example for a sequel that holds up very well compared to the original. It came out only a year later, so the actors didn't look like older versions of themselves yet. It had an overall plot that was different than the first, had only a handfull of jokes and callbacks from the first movie, and of course had Christopher Walken as the bad guy!

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls is my example for a sequel that, IMO, surpasses the original. While there were a few obvious jokes reused, it felt like a completely different movie than the first. There were all new characters (except obviously Ace), new location, and just the hilarity of how out of place Ace is in the jungle. It is one of the only sequels Jim Carrey has done, and I am glad for it!

Other good comedy sequels:
Hot Shots: Part Deux
Christmas Vacation
Ghostbusters 2
22 Jump Street

What are your opinions on movie sequels, and which do you love/hate?

 

[MoLiEG]

Not many sequels turn into better movies than the one that started all, but IMO, these would be good examples of good sequels.

Empire Strikes Back (for me, the 2nd best Star Wars film ever, tied with Rogue One).
2 Fast 2 Furious (Just as good as the original).
The Dark Knight (Best Batman Movie IMO).
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest (Last time Disney gave us a good POTC Movie)
Toy Story II
Resident Evil II (I like it, sorry )

 

[Dave A]

Good sequels IMO are:
The Godfather II
The Bourne Supremacy
The Dark Knight
Empire Strikes Back
Gremlins 2
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Spiderman 2
Desperado
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Mad Max 2
Terminator 2
Aliens

I think the key is not to re-tread too much of the same water. Some good sequals follow a similar formula to the original, like Bourne and Terminator. In those occasions you have to make the plot engaging enough and belivable enough so that the characters going through the same stuff again makes sense.

 

[05XR8]

Good(from when I first saw them in the theaters)
Rush Hour 2
Bad Boys 2
Aliens
Ghostbusters II
Predator 2
Superman II
The Naked Gun 2 1/2
Rocky II
IRON-MAN 2
...and many more...

Bad(again, from when I first saw them in theaters):
Jaws 2
Super Cop 2
RoboCop 2
X-Men 2
Die Hard 2

I feel there are more good than bad sequels.

 

[JKgo]

...I see quite a few good examples above my post, so there isn't much I can add.

However, ever since watching SS Hell Camp, which was actually titled The Beast in Heat but got its name changed to fit the narrative throughline of Villainous Nazis mini-craze running amok in the 70s and 80s, I can't help but remember several "sequels" that weren't actually sequels AT ALL.

For instance....

Spoiler: Wikipedia Link: Alien 2. Yes, it's real.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_2:_On_Earth

Or this one...

Spoiler: Yet another Wikipedia link: Jaws in Japan. Nope, I'm not making this up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_in_Japan

Both of these films are fake sequels, their names altered to cash in on the buzz the original films generated - kinda like mockbusters Asylum produces by the dozen.

Personally, it's a case-by-case with sequels for me. If the story and the characters feel like there's more room to explore, sure, why not? But if it's a contained story like, say, Midnight Run or The Titanic, then it wouldn't make a lot of sense. So, my answer to OP's question is, neither yay nor nay.

 

[Lain]

Yea to yea, nay to yay.

 

[Com Fox]

I feel like sequels should only happen if the original plot leaves some openings for the sequels to resolve, or the original ends on something that the sequel can address.

It absolutely pains me to see a Sequel where the original plot didn't lead to anything to go off, or for the original to leave things open only for a sequel to never happen.

For example, looking at Cars 2 and Finding Dory, Finding Dory took the right approach focusing on a character whose story isn't really well known from the original and explores more of it as the character in the first movie already had their story arc resolved and wasn't much for them to do. Meanwhile Cars 2 didn't need to happen, they didn't explore new things with the cast or setting and just threw in a random plot on top of an existing franchise, Cars 3 handles this better by actually exploring the themes of the universe much more than a random spy plot.

 

[Nismonath5]

Cars 2 didn't need to happen, they didn't explore new things with the cast or setting and just threw in a random plot on top of an existing franchise, Cars 3 handles this better by actually exploring the themes of the universe much more than a random spy plot.

Cars 3 is what Cars 2 should have been IMO.

 

[Liquid]

Die Hard 2 isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's not the best sequel ever, sure, but it's not awful. It was immediately bettered by the superb Die Hard With A Vengence though.

Good Sequels
Direct, only following the first film sequels

The Godfather Part II
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
From Russia With Love
Ghostbusters II
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell Of Fear
Toy Story 2
Die Hard 2
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
Clerks II
American Pie 2

All great films I love.

Four of which are often considered to actually be the best film in their respective series; Godfather II, Terminator 2, Empire Strikes Back and Wrath Of Khan.

Two of which are two of the best performing sequels ever; Clerks II in 3rd place with a 677% improvement in box office gross and Terminator 2 in 5th place with a 434% improvement.

 

[SilkCutXJR]

I feel like sequels should only happen if the original plot leaves some openings for the sequels to resolve, or the original ends on something that the sequel can address.

It absolutely pains me to see a Sequel where the original plot didn't lead to anything to go off, or for the original to leave things open only for a sequel to never happen.

For example, looking at Cars 2 and Finding Dory, Finding Dory took the right approach focusing on a character whose story isn't really well known from the original and explores more of it as the character in the first movie already had their story arc resolved and wasn't much for them to do. Meanwhile Cars 2 didn't need to happen, they didn't explore new things with the cast or setting and just threw in a random plot on top of an existing franchise, Cars 3 handles this better by actually exploring the themes of the universe much more than a random spy plot.

Thats actually a very good, not too complicated Explanation for Sequel success. Film that have either a new perspective on known characters (Change of main character) or more of the original Story to tell in a reasonable way. Thank You!