Since my birthday is only one week away (on the 13th), I really don't have anything planned other that maybe order take out of go out to eat somewhere. But that's not why I'm here today. I want to talk about movie sequels - you either love them, hate them, or somewhere in between. There's are sequels out that critics love, but fan hated, and vise versa, and then there are sequel that in public opinion where never needed in the first place, like those direct to video/DVD releases we always get.
Here, I talk about my top 10 movies that I felt never needed to be made, as in my personal opinion, they either just don't live up their predecessors or they just didn't added anything to their respective franchise. So here is my list of top 10 movie sequels that were never needed to begin with:
TOP 10 MOVIE SEQUELS THAT DIDN'T NEED TO BE MADE:
10.) Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
I'm starting with a video-base film. Now we all know that most, if not all video-game-base film adaptions can suck. From Super Mario Bros., to Doom, we can mostly agree that they aren't good, but there were just a select few in my opinion at least that pass the bar just enough to warren my liking, and the first Mortal Kombat is one of them. My Dad & I went to go see it in theaters when it came out in 1995, and in my Dad's own words at the time, it was "Kick-ass from beginning to end." I even remember my Dad saying "Jesus Christ" or "Holy Shit" when Shang Tsung crushed Chan Kang's back in the beginning dream sequence. It was that bad-ass of a film at the time. However, none of that could be said for its sequel, Annihilation. First off, recasting Johnny Cage was the first red flag for me. That pretty much told me something was off, and boy was I right. The whole story line for the film was terrible. Shan Khan breaking the rules and causing mayhem, Raiden becoming mortal, and let's not forget the HORRIBLE SHITTING CGI that was the Bestiality Fight sequence - it was hideous! But what do you except from 90's CGI, right? Overall, the whole movie was just to cash in on the fame and popularity of the first film, without putting any thought into the story or the characters.
09.) The Resident Evil sequels
I'm going to get right to the point. The 1st Resident Evil film was perfection for a early 2000's horror action film based on a game. For me at least, it is a film done right. The characters, the setting, and the pacing was spot on for me, as it build up the reveals and unlocking the mystery of the film little by little until the end. For me, it was good all by itself. The sequels were, again, more cashing in on the previous film, but worse - continuing the cycle every time. While the first film had a solid story and setting, the sequels was all about mindless action and gore at the expense to turning Milla Jovovich's character Alice into the new Ellan Ripley. The whole thing about the sequels was pointless for me. I was hoping it would end with part 3, Extinction, but it just kept going and going like a demonic energizer bunny on crack. Even though the sequels are done, I still feel like they just didn't contribute anything to the first film. Like I said, the first film stands on its own.
08.) Starship Troopers 2 & 3
Before I begin, I never saw the first CGI, Invasion, so that one is not going on the list. Second, I did watch Traitor of Mars, and I was at least happy they brought back Casper Van Dien & Dina Meyer to replay their characters. That was the only saving grace for that film, so it's off the list too. With that in mind, Starship Trooper 2: Hero of the Federation, and 3: Marauder, was pure shit in it's entirety. The first sequel was more like a sci-fi horror film that didn't fit in with the franchise, and the character were forgettable. Nothing in the first sequel stands out or makes tribute to its film series in any way shape or form. If this didn't have Starship Troopers in the title, and you change the setting a bit, this could have been a cheesy B-rated original sci-fi film for Sci-Fi Channel, but that's as far as I go with it. Marauder on the other hand, while it does bring back Johnny Rico, the story is the same shit again, with forgettable characters and a plot that also does little to add to the series' mythos. Both of these films just don't live up to the original.
07.) Tremors 4-6
The first trilogy of Tremors films, in my personal opinion, were great. They completed the films' overall story line and complimented each other very well. Its prequel and two additional sequels, on the other hand, do nothing but give Micheal Gross a paycheck and something to do. While I LOVE Burt Gummer to bits for his military wackiness, I feel that the last 3 installments do nothing except inflate his ego and just repeats what was done before in the first trilogy. And the fact that he had a son in the 5th & 6th films felt just put in for the sake of it. Overall, the 2nd trilogy was just another made-for-tv cash-in.
06.) Hollow Man 2
I remember seeing a teaser trailer for the first film, thinking that the plot was about a convict getting sentenced to invisibility as an experiment, only to escape and cause mayhem. I was immediately hooked and couldn't wait for see the first film in theaters. When the full trailer came out and gave me the real story, I was still hooked and ampted to see it. The film's story about Kevin Bacon's character testing his invisibility serum on himself and finding out it can't be reversed, and seeing him slowly lose his sanity and become a homicidal killer is just pure sci-fi action horror fun. That can not be said of the 2006 sequel. I get that in the story they introduce a "buffer" serum for the brain to avoid going crazy like in the first film, but even so, the whole was just another "take-2" of the first story, but with two hollow men fighting each other in the end. They even just put in flashbacks of the Kevin Bacon's character going invisible from the first film in this one when the guy explains how the current guy became the new test subject. Pure laziness. Overall, nothing new to contribute in any way, and that's why I say the 1st Hollow Man should stay a stand-alone film.
05.) The Predator
I love the first two Predator films, just as much as I love the Whole ALIEN Quadriliogy films. Even 2010's Predators is sequel done right in my opinion, but 2018's The Predator was just a huge mess from beginning to end. The story was ridiculous, and the characters were dimension-less. I felt like the movie overall was trying too hard to make a likable sequel and failed miserably. The super predator was just terrible and seem like the writers just ran out of ideas. And the ending in which the good guys got their own Predator Armored to fight other Yautja in the future, while looks cool and fun, seems pretty dame stupid. I would have been happy if they just reverse-engineered all the pred-tech and just created their own weapons an armor. Overall, the movie was pure Pred-dog shit.
04.) The Thing 2011
The first film from 1982 (which is a remake of the 1950's sci-fi classic) was a pure science-horror MASTERPIECE. The dark tone of the story, along with the isolation setting made the film scary and dark as hell. I remember watching my recorded VHS copy all the time since I was like 8 or 9 years old, and it was the version with The Four Tops's "One Chain Don't Make No Prison" in stead of "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder playing on Nauls' stereo in the Kitchen. While the 1982 remake was perfection in a Film reel, it's the total opposite for it's 2011 prequel. First off, way to many inconsistencies, like in the original film, there were only 10 total Norwegians station at their camp, while in this prequel, there are like 12 + 4 Americans in total. Inconsistencies like that is a big no-no in my book. Also, the people behind the scenes were originally going with practical effects for most of the creatures, but the higher-ups said otherwise. Then there's the UFO itself - It looks NOTHING like the original from the 1982 "sequel." That one prop piece alone really got on my nerves. For me, The Thing prequel is only half of how you do a sequel, while half of it is done by producers who either forgotten the small details of the first film, or just never gave a shit to begin with.
03.) Jurassic Park III & the Jurassic World films
Jurassic Park 1, a masterpiece. The Lost World: Jurassic Park, a good sequel to said masterpiece. Jurassic III, is just a big pile of shit, weather it's dog shit or dino-shit. First, the 3rd installment felt rushed in someway. Second, having a side story about raptors being smarter than dolphins was just stupid, it felt like a joke. The only saving grace for J3 is the T-rex getting its' ass killed off by the Spinosaurus and having said Spinosaurus as the main villain. Other than that, nothing new. Jurassic World & Fallen Kingdom, to me, just felt like they were trying too hard to bring back the "magic" of the first film for a modern audience, and while it might have worked, I still feel like they both just can't live up to the original Micheal Crichton classic.
02.) Terminator Salvation & Terminator Genisys
I know that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines should be on this list, but I'm giving that film a pass, because of the Judgement Day ending. I felt that T3 ending with the start of the war was a good send off for the film itself, and I remember my Dad saying he liked how it ended in that fashion. However, its' sequel, Salvation, while trying to picture what the war would actually look like, felt like another generic apocalyptic sci-fi war film with Christian Bale in it. As for the super sloppy mess of garbage that is Genisys - TOTAL BULLSHIT. The story of having the original timeline re-written was totally dumb, and it just leaves a lot of writers trap-doors. A complete waste of potential and a total waste of time. This film should be burned.
01.) The Star Wars Prequels & Sequels
The Original Star Wars Trilogy. We all know it, and we all love it to death. The original trilogy, along with its' 80s Droids & Ewoks cartoon series, and even the shitty Ewoks films, were in my opinion, all the Star Wars you'll ever need. Now, when the first prequel was coming out, I wasn't hyped, but I was all for it. But after watching it a few times, it felted like a disappointment. The same is said for Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. They may have started out great during their first showings, but then you realize just how bad they are after a 2nd viewing. The CGI was BAD. And that's not counting that living, walking, & talking turd that is Jar jar Binks. I'm not going to go into details, because you can look up Red Letter Media's review of the prequels to get what I'm talking about. As for The force Awakens, I liked the film as it felt like it was going back to the series' roots, but I can only watch so many times before I'm sick and tired of it. As for The Last Jedi...a big middle finger to the fans. Enough said.
Got a film sequel you feel shouldn't been made or needed. Comment about it below!
***
COMMISSION LIST:
01. Different1357902468 - 100% - DONE!
02. DreamSelfWolfKP - 100% - DONE!
03. Hellsenders #2 - ON HOLD
04. ryonryonryon #5 - ON HOLD
05. TlojHRT #2 - ON HOLD
06. XxPurpleHedgieXx #3 - 25% - Sketch done...
07. Captain Alexander #2 - ON HOLD
08. RapunzelHasBestHair - 100% - DONE!
09. SilverSpectre08 - ON HOLD
10. bluewulv - ON HOLD
