There are very few movie sequels that I have loved. I loved Matrix. I didn't love the sequels. In fact, I thought the third and last one was a complete waste of time with all it's messianic-references.
The same goes for Alien and Terminator - loved the originality of first one, hated the straight-forwardness of the sequels
Sometimes it's better just to let a story finish without trying to explain the 'verse it inhabits (I'm talking 'bout you, Matrix).
With Alien, the monster surprise was no longer a surprise.
With Terminator, maybe the novelty just wore off.
And yet..and yet...I loved all the Die Hard movies. Why is it that I did not get tired of watching Bruce Willis getting older and balder and getting his body beaten up all the time? He's not pretty like Johnny Depp. Maybe when a sequel that is really just another story with the same main characters as the previous film, it works.
Harry Potter - yes I have enjoyed every single one, despite whinging about how Hermione's really not supposed to be that pretty, and all those stereotypes about fat boys, and all that boring quidditch. These stories were all designed to follow on from each other, conceptualised from the start by the author. I guess that's why these work whilc others don't.
Lord of the Rings. It's really one story split up into 3 movies, which is similar to Harry Potter.
Anyone else got any theories?
9 comments:
Agree completely on The Matrix, and sequels in general. I also enjoyed The Lord of the Rings trilogy. So far with the new Batman, I had a great time with Batman Begins and just enjoyed The Dark Knight last week for the first time. Your theory may be spot on.
Hmm, The Matrix sequels weren't really necessary but they did have some great action sequences. Alien and Terminator both also got more convoluted. But I agree, Harry Potter and LOTR were all pretty good as are the Die Hards.
What about Pirates of the Carribean? They're not bad, especially being based on a theme park ride and then there is Star Wars where I think the best one is number 2.
You may have something, when they hash out a follow up movie just because the first one did really well, it doesn't always spell recipe for success. Speed 2 is another perfect example of that.
Oh yeah - Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were both excellent! Much more so than any of the earlier Batman movies. I'd put this down to Christian Bale being a terrific actor, and the fact that both are dark rather than camp.
Pirates - they were pretty good considering their source. But they aren't really my cup of tea. I found it all a bit silly and even Depp's Jack Sparrow didn't save it as far as I'm concerned. Maybe I'm just not into camp?
Slightly embarrassed to admit this (actually, I'm not I have no shame), but Transporter 2 and 3.... are pretty good. I could look at Jason Statham all day.
donnasoowho:he's sort of a pretty thug, isn't he?
Well kind of. But it's the karate. And how he always whips his shirt off and beats people up with it! Pure magic.
And they don't bother 'pretending that there's a story'.
I liked the Alien sequel, Aliens.
Placing the premise in an action movie upped the ante for me.
donnasoowho: there's definitely a plus to not "pretending there's a story" ;-)
nigel:I think preferred space horror to space action!
The first one was the creepiest.
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