Movie Sequels

[Ryujin]

Oh, mos def.

Taste is subjective- arguably moreseo when it comes to comedy! I've often said that I really loved The Lobster, which is a "dark comedy," but I completely understand that other people might not enjoy it (or find it funny).

That said, I do think that your love of Airplane II, while totally valid, is likely a minority opinion.

If you want a little dark comedy, that seems to have flown under the radar of most, try "A Bit of Bad Luck" starring Cary Elwes

 

[R_J_K75]

That said, I do think that your love of Airplane II, while totally valid, is likely a minority opinion.

I know Im definitely in the minority, I think the reason the first one gets more love is because it started a genre of comedy that has been widely imitated since, in the same way that Kevin Smith's Clerks was widely imitated with very dialogue driven comedy. I do think 2 is better but not by much, they both have their moments and honestly, I almost think of them as one movie in the same way I think of Rubber Soul and Revolver by the Beatles as one record. Absolutely no filler on both the movies or the records.

 

[MGibster]

The 2015 Vacation remake was much better than I expected, hoped they made a sequel but after 8+ years, doesnt seem likely

Sadly, Christina Applegate has multiple sclerosis and has retired from acting onscreen. I enjoyed the 2015 movie, but I thought they did a terrible disservice to the character Audrey. She deserved more than to be in a loveless marriage with a chauvinist jerk.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I like Swordman II better than the first Swordsman movie (even though I love the director of the first one).

Others have mentioned Wrath of Khan which I think is clearly better than the first Star Trek and a classic.

The Road Warrior keeps getting brought up. I do think it is liked by more people than the first film, but I have to say, because it is fresh in my mind from a podcast I recorded the other night, I find the first movie much better than Road Warrior (I like Road Warrior a lot, but the first movie makes me feel more, there is more interesting character development for me, and setting of things being on the cusp of apocalypse makes it a lot more horrifying. There are lots of other reasons I prefer it. That said, I get my view is in a minority on the issue.

I agree with @Snarf Zagyg on Godfather 2. It isn't better than1 like a lot of people say, but it is a great movie (especially the flashbacks to young Vito Corleone IMO), and they make a great 1-2 punch. Interesting thing, those flash backs to Vito Corleone's younger days were in the original book and the story from the first movie was structured in that like part 2 (makes me wonder if Coppola could ever do a cut of 1 with those flash back sequences in it---probably best to leave that alone though)

I agree that Aliens is a great sequel, but again I still like the first movie better. Just preference but it works for me more than part 2.

No question Empire Strikes back is better than Star Wars (not sure if sequels in trilogies count)

Also Evil Dead II is way, way better than the original Evil Dead (again in my opinion)

 

[Bedrockgames]

Sadly, Christina Applegate has multiple sclerosis and has retired from acting onscreen. I enjoyed the 2015 movie, but I thought they did a terrible disservice to the character Audrey. She deserved more than to be in a loveless marriage with a chauvinist jerk.

She is still going to do voice work I believe. I remember being very surprised when I saw her in Anchorman, because I didn't realize she was such a talented comedic actress (I knew her from Married with Children and she was great, but it was easy to overlook the talent because the show was so goofy)

 

[R_J_K75]

Sadly, Christina Applegate has multiple sclerosis and has retired from acting onscreen. I enjoyed the 2015 movie, but I thought they did a terrible disservice to the character Audrey. She deserved more than to be in a loveless marriage with a chauvinist jerk.

I did not know she retired, that's too bad. But switching actors for each movie has always been par for the course so they could re-cast her character. The only actor they should probably keep is Ed Helms but even at this point I'd say they could even re-cast him and not miss a beat as long as they get someone as good. Not sure where they were going with the Audrey and Stone thing, but Audrey has always been the odd one out in all the previous movies, so I wonder if that's what they were getting at?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I did not know she retired, that's too bad. But switching actors for each movie has always been par for the course so they could re-cast her character. The only actor they should probably keep is Ed Helms but even at this point I'd say they could even re-cast him and not miss a beat as long as they get someone as good. Not sure where they were going with the Audrey and Stone thing, but Audrey has always been the odd one out in all the previous movies, so I wonder if that's what they were getting at?

We say that, but I'd like to offer an alternate take on the situation.

The Vacation movies (specifically, the first three) worked because of the brilliance of Chevy Chase.

Say what you will about him as a person (and trust me ... if you ask around Hollywood, people definitely are going to say what they will about him!), but for a period of time, he had a certain comic genius. He was the essential ingredient in a murderer's row of comedies that defined the 80s- Caddyshack, the Vacation movies, and Fletch.

That said, Chevy Chase (as a person) and "Chevy Chase" (the comic persona) did not age very well. Just like Fletch, I don't know that you can capture the specific magic, and using the name just becomes an exercise in taking an IP that people know and making something different with it. See, e.g., the recent trailer for The Fall Guy.

 

[R_J_K75]

Others have mentioned Wrath of Khan which I think is clearly better than the first Star Trek and a classic.

I tried watching the the first star trek film and it was unwatchable. It's a miracle that franchise went on after it. Must've made a decent profit if I had to guess.

(not sure if sequels in trilogies count)

Sure why not

 

[R_J_K75]

Say what you will about him as a person (and trust me ... if you ask around Hollywood, people definitely are going to say what they will about him!), but for a period of time, he had a certain comic genius. He was the essential ingredient in a murderer's row of comedies that defined the 80s- Caddyshack, the Vacation movies, and Fletch.

Yeah he has a very bad reputation for treating people badly. Him and Bill Murray hated each other. Of course they could have never have re-cast him in Vacation or Fletch in the 80s, and he had a few good movies in the late 70s. But besides Funny Farm and Cops and Robbersons, his movie career seems to have flagged pretty bad since the mid 90s. Not much I remember seeing him in after except Community, which didn't end well for him as him and Dan Harmon didn't get along. Theres rumors of a Community movie in development but its unlikely he'll reprise his role.

Can you spot Chevy? Supposedly he wanted to be a musician before acting and even played in Steely Dan for a short stint.

 

[Umbran]

Winter Soldier. The first Cap Movie was good. This was one of the best MCU ever.

Like Alien/Aliens, the MCU movies aren't really all in one genre. The Iron Man movies, and Avengers movies are all pretty solidly what we might call "modern superhero movies".

For Captain America, they change up the genre. The First Avenger has significant elements of "war movie", while The Winter Soldier leans more into "spy movie" terrain. Guardians of the Galaxy leans into ensemble comedy tropes, and Ant Man leans into "heist movie".

A lot of our feeling on which are the better moves may be based in our preferences for the secondary genre.

All these genre changes were a major part of how the audience kept engaged across the years of the franchise. Arguably, more recently they have perhaps lost focus on the secondary genre choices for their movies, which may be part of why folks are losing interest.