Movies that shouldn't have sequels, but do (and vice versa).

[Rackhir]

Highlander wins, hands-down. All films after the first ones were crap. Highlander 2 being the worst of the worst.

What are you talking about there was no Highlander 2? For some reason they skipped straight to Highlander 3.

The Thing is just crying out for a sequel.

I think it would be a big mistake to try and do a sequel to a movie like The Thing. Er, are you talking about the original movie or the Carpenter film, which ironically enough for a remake was actually far more faithful to the story they were based on. I thought the ending to the Carpenter film was perfect. It left you with just a touch of paranoia as to what the situation really was. I'm not sure what you could do to follow that up that wouldn't be either a retread or just be awful.

Predator deserves better sequels.

What didn't you like about Predator 2? I actually thought that was a far better film than the original.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I have a lot of trouble thinking of a movie I think deserves a sequel because if I liked a movie enough to want more, I fear ruining my experience of the original movie by creating a sucky sequel.

As for sequels that should never have been made, that list is far too long.

Any Star Trek after Wrath of Khan
Speed 2
Caddyshack 2

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Highlander 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, the cartoon, the TV show, and most everything else.

Return of the Living Dead sequels.

Most of the Star Trek movies.

Superman movies after 2.

Zardoz needs a sequel, if only to get Sean Connery back into this suit.

Hrmmm?.....(take a look at the pic)

IIIEEE!!!

 

[Bihor]

What didn't you like about Predator 2? I actually thought that was a far better film than the original.

Thank god, I though I was the only one how like this movie.

 

[sniffles]

<snip>
Dungeons and Dragons should never have had a sequel, and shouldn've have been made in the first place.

The Amityville Horror should never have had a sequel. <snip>

Actually, the first D&D movie should never have been made, and the sequel should have been done in its place.

Which Amityville Horror? Personally, I think none of them should ever have been made. When my fiancee saw a trailer for the new remake and heard the overdramatic announcer voice, he added to the narration (in the same stentorian tones) "Because we don't have a f**king new idea in our heads", which made most of the rest of the audience laugh.

Buckaroo Banzai would have been great to have a sequel right after the original movie was made, but if they're going to do anything with it now they should just do a remake. They've been trying for years, though, even tried a tv series with no joy. I used to be a member of one of the few still active Banzai fan clubs.

 

[takyris]

I'd differentiate between movies that should have had better sequels than the ones they had and movies that shouldn't have had any sequels.

For example, somebody above mentioned Sister Act. I'll wholeheartedly agree that Sister Act 2 was bad (and I also found Sister Act 1 charming and goofy and fun), but I don't know that Sister Act 1 was so complete as to make a sequel an awful idea. It didn't NEED a sequel, but a good sequel wouldn't have hurt the first one.

The Matrix, on the other hand, was so obviously meant to be a single movie that the attempts to figure out how to tack on a sequel required so much shoehorning as to retroactively make the first movie suck along with the sequels.

I'd agree on Highlander -- the movie was designed to make a sequel impossible, but then they ignored that. (Although I did like the series with Adrian Paul, which is, I guess, more a re-imagining of the world in which the Kurgan was not the last immortal, merely a very powerful immortal, and Connor's sense of being "The One" was apparently just a euphoric effect from a big-honkin' quickening.)

Jurassic Park, on the other hand, could have continued an interesting story with its sequels, instead of, well, turning into Jurassic Park 2. It had bad sequels, but it could have had good ones.

I'd love to say that Terminator 2 shouldn't have had a sequel, but by the logic I'm using, unfortunately, I must concede that it is possible that someone could have made a good movie that addressed some of the cool world information and continued the story in an interesting way... instead of dropping Claire Danes into the movie and giving us a terminatress who makes her boobs bigger to distract a police officer she's going to kill anyway.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I'd love to say that Terminator 2 shouldn't have had a sequel, but by the logic I'm using, unfortunately, I must concede that it is possible that someone could have made a good movie that addressed some of the cool world information and continued the story in an interesting way... instead of dropping Claire Danes into the movie and giving us a terminatress who makes her boobs bigger to distract a police officer she's going to kill anyway.

I have given my wife strict instructions that she is not to fall in love with the leader of the human resistance until a minimum of 24 hours has past after my assasination by a cyborg from the future.

Sometimes you just gotta put your foot down.

 

[trancejeremy]

Highlander. The sequels don't even make sense. Did he win "the prize" or not? In 2 he did, but then gave it up. And in 3 and later he didn't. Gah.

Aliens. Alien 3 basically said that "oops, Aliens didn't end on a happy note like you thought, moments later, everyone died off screen." Grrrrr. Now I can't stand to watch Aliens and it used to be my favorite movie.

T2 - T3 pretty much did the same thing to T2 what Alien 3 did to Aliens. Props to Linda Hamiliton for refusing to appear in it.


Black Mask. I don't even know where to begin with Black Mask 2. Wrestlers? Animal People? Tracy Lords?

The Exorcist. While not a bad movie, Exorcist II is again one of those sequels that largely rewrites what happens in the first movie, most notably killing off the survivors of the first who you think were saved. Wasn't a bad movie, just sort of a downer. I did like the Exorcist III, though.


Amityville is an interesting case. The first sequel, 2, actually was a prequel, telling the story of the kid who shot his parents and sisters. The 3rd movie is a sequel, and IMHO, by far the best in the series, since it makes no attempt to be "true" or realistic, but is just a plain old horror/haunted house movie, which it does pretty well. And it was in 3D (part of the short lived 3D craze of the '80s) so it's got all those fantastic 3d shots like frisbees and swordfish flying into the camera.


Similarly, I enjoyed Conan the Destroyer, but it's different than the original. The original movie tried to stick to Howard, at least in spirit, while the 2nd was basically a D&D movie. As a Conan movie it's bad, but as a D&D movie it's good.

 

[ohGr]

Blues Brothers. Seriously, who thought that was a good idea?

 

[Fast Learner]

Blues Brothers. Seriously, who thought that was a good idea?

Yeah, I managed to lose all of my respect for both Dan Ackroyd and John Goodman in one swell foop.