Many filmmakers have announced sequels to their blockbuster films in the last year. Star Trek is releasing its second film “Into Darkness” in May. Marvel has announced new additions to the Thor and Captain America series, which will eventually lead to an Avengers sequel. “Anchorman” also announced a new movie that will be released this year, 9 year after the original movie came out. A sequel is a big risk. It can either make or break a movie. Fans will either leave the theater with the satisfaction of having watched their favorite characters embark on some new adventure, or a feeling of disappointment that this new movie completely ruined their experience with the first movie. Here’s a look at some of the best and worst sequels.
When “The Godfather” won the Oscar for best picture in 1972, they could have stopped there. Instead, they decided to continue the story in a second movie. Trying to add on to a movie as successful as “The Godfather” was a risky move, but it paid off. “The Godfather Part II” was very successful and won the Oscar for best picture in 1974. A successful third movie was also added to the series.
“The Hangover” is one of the funniest movies that have come out in recent years. So when the sequel was made in 2011, it had very big shoes to fill. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to expectations. Although it had a few funny moments, most of the movie was just a repeat of the first. The characters still went to a wedding, still lost one of their friends, and followed about the same storyline. It was recently announced that a third movie will be released this year. Hopefully the story will change up a bit, and redeem the series.
When “Batman Begins” was released, it was a pretty good movie, but it was forgettable. It just seemed like another Batman movie. Nothing really stood out about it, until its sequel was released three years later. “The Dark Knight” made a little over a billion dollars worldwide. The story was written excellently, and Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker was outstanding. Ledger won the Oscar for best Supporting Actor. “The Dark Knight” is now considered by many to be one of the best superhero movies.
Batman has always been great though. “Batman and Robin” was released in 1997, and was the sequel to “Batman”. The whole movie was very cheesy. George Clooney as Batman and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze just didn’t work. The dialogue was cheesy and the costumes were just silly. The movie also tried to cram way too many villains and characters into one movie.
Regardless of the risk, people will continue to make sequels; and whether or not the sequel is good or bad, people will continue to go see them. Fans can expect to be excited or disappointed by their favorite movies’ second films long into the future.
