#4364328 - 06/16/17 04:04 PM
Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
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Arthonon
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In the discussion of The Accountant, sequel movies were brought up, and I thought about whether a sequel was really the right thing for that movie, and then thought about other movies as well. I put "good" in the subject line to filter out movies that were just bad and thus shouldn't have a sequel, and focus on good movies that would not benefit from a sequel.
To me, a movie that works well, and tells a good story with a good ending (not good as in happy, but just a good wrap up), doesn't really need a sequel, even though everyone seems to want more and of course studios are always looking to make a buck.
My first entries are:
Blade Runner To me, Blade Runner was a well-crafted story that did its job, exploring the meaning of being human through the eyes of someone whose job it was to make that determination, and the lines got blurry. Even though some of the characters went on to other things, the core story was told and I think it should end there.
Highlander Yes, Highlander 2 is infamous, but one of the reasons I think it was so bad is that the first movie wrapped things up so well that there was no place to go with the story - it told the whole tale and there wasn't anything more to tell, really. Nobody wanted to see what happened after MacLeod was no longer immortal and had no immortals to sword fight.
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#4364336 - 06/16/17 04:46 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Arthonon]
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Bib4Tuna
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I will take you to Jabba
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A sequel can be bad, but I do not see anything wrong with sequels themselves.
I don't think Alien needs a sequel, but Aliens is an action cinematic gem. I feel the same about Terminator and Terminator 2.
Without sequels we also would not have STII: The Wrath of Khan, SW: Empire Strikes Back, Superman 2 (the one from 1980, I mean), and Silence of the Lambs (yes...a sequel to Manhunter, which was based on the Red Dragon novel).
So I'll give the sequel a chance, but these days it seems it is more important to market the nostalgia and hype of a sequel instead of trying to surpass the original movie in quality, so I see where your concern comes from.
I think the most recent example of doing this successfully would be Guardians of the Galaxy, which has a very good sequel.
Last edited by Bib4Tuna; 06/16/17 04:51 PM.
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#4364339 - 06/16/17 04:54 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Bib4Tuna]
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PanzerMeyer
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Without sequels we also would not have STII: The Wrath of Khan,
I've always seen ST II more as a "reboot" than a sequel to ST: TMP due to it having such a radically different tone, pacing and narrative. Also, there is zero mention of the events of ST:TMP in ST II. It's almost like ST:TMP never even happened.
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 06/16/17 04:55 PM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
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#4364371 - 06/16/17 06:16 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Jayhawk]
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Arthonon
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Titanic Two immediate responses come to mind. First: Second: I said *good* movies... :P
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#4364477 - 06/17/17 02:19 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Arthonon]
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Immermann
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SimHQ's resident fire enthusiast.
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Now in cinemas across the world: Ghost Ship Titanic!
"When I saw The Matrix at a local theatre in Slovenia, I had the unique opportunity of sitting close to the ideal spectator of the film - namely, to an idiot." - Slavoj Zizek
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#4364482 - 06/17/17 02:50 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Arthonon]
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Mr_Blastman
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Agree with Blade Runner, not so sure about Highlander. If we could only delete Highlander 2 and get a new one...
The Accountant, however, begs for one--it is written for one. When us writers create an IP, often we have a sequel of series in mind, and leave hooks in the story or underdeveloped plotlines--sometimes clues or hints or character arcs begging for more. These bits and pieces, if left untended, leave the original story weaker than it could have been if they were fulfilled the first time around, and we know this, but we do this because without them, a proper sequel would not work. This is why many sequels /do/ fail, or are poor--because the original film was /not/ written with a series in mind.
Die Hard was one of my favorite examples for a long time. Alone, the movie is incredible. But mixed with Die Hard 2... ugh. I still don't like Die Hard 2, my memories of that film are so bad I can't will myself to watch it again. They made up for it with Die Hard 3, but the original wasn't written in a way to suggest there ever being a sequel. However, another big series for the day, Lethal Weapon, was slightly staged for a sequel with a fantastic character dynamic that only got better in later films. The bad sequels don't utilize these hooks to canonically fit themselves in the arcs--and sometimes it is impossible, and when that happens, you do something completely different, but it better be awesome; or maybe the source material is so far out there you do something extreme anyways like Wrath of Khan and enjoy how awesome it is.
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#4364624 - 06/18/17 02:48 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Arthonon]
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Pooch
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The man who directed the first Rocky movie just died. I read an interesting little tidbit in his autobiography. He said that when he was handed the original script for Rocky, he loved it. Rocky dies at the end. He wins the fight, but he is so brutally beaten that he is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Adrian (that was her name, right?) is with him. He doesn't even make it to the hospital. He dies on the way with his head in her lap. Imagine! No Rocky sequels. What the Hell would Stallone have done for the next ten years? I don't think audiences would have liked it, though. It defeats the whole uplifting idea about the film that people loved. The little guy who makes it big. Instead, it's about a man who finally realizes his life's dream...and then he dies! Personally, I like the whole bitter sweet idea.
"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace." Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia
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#4364675 - 06/18/17 08:35 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Arthonon]
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semmern
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The first Pirates of the Caribbean was great. Fun, exciting and well-made in most respects. The rest of them do not exist in my world.
In all my years I've never seen the like. It has to be more than a hundred sea miles and he brings us up on his tail. That's seamanship, Mr. Pullings. My God, that's seamanship!
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#4364734 - 06/19/17 11:10 AM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Pooch]
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PanzerMeyer
Pro-Consul of Florida
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Pro-Consul of Florida
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Imagine! No Rocky sequels. What the Hell would Stallone have done for the next ten years? .
The Rambo movies?
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
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#4364801 - 06/19/17 03:14 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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EAF331 MadDog
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XBL: LanceHawkins
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Imagine! No Rocky sequels. What the Hell would Stallone have done for the next ten years? .
The Rambo movies? Funny you should mention that - "First Blood" was supposed to end with John Rambo dying also. Do we sense a theme here?
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#4364810 - 06/19/17 03:32 PM
Re: Good Movies That Shouldn't Have Sequels (Possible Spoilers)
[Re: Arthonon]
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Jayhawk
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"The Last of the Mohicans 2 - Turns Out He Wasn't the Last After All", now playing at a theater near you. Acutally, I always though a neat short film could be made out of "The Last of the Mohicans": 75 seconds of logos, then followed by a 5 minute credits intro with the Last of the Mohicans riding through beatiful Colonial New England, watering his horse by the creek, standing on a hill looking around meaningful (very), continue riding some more. Then after the intro music faded, we cut to him riding down a field. Suddenly, a shot rings out, he holds his belly, blood spurting out between his fingers, he falls from his horse. The End.
Last edited by Jayhawk; 06/19/17 03:37 PM.
Why men throw their lives away attacking an armed Witcher... I'll never know. Something wrong with my face?
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Exodus
by RedOneAlpha. 04/18/24 05:46 PM
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