Top Ten Good Sequels to Bad Movies
Sometimes a movie comes out and it's crap. It happens (a lot). Then they announce that they want to make a sequel and everyone thinks "WHY?". Of course, typically a sequel to a much-disliked movie is also bad, but in some cases the funniest little thing happens... IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD! This list compiles the best movie sequels that followed a horrible predecessor.
While it wasn't really a stellar film, this movie was leaps and bounds better than Episodes I and II. Episode I was just dull and disappointing on the whole, and Episode II was essentially just filler for III (which makes it even worse).
Episode III, though, was the first prequel Star Wars movie that actually felt needed, showing the rise of the Empire, Anakin's transformation into Vader, and featuring some of the series' best fight scenes. It also had a much more coherent and enjoyable story, essentially ignoring the other two movies (thank goodness).
Bottom line, Lucas really pulled himself together for the final prequel, and he did a pretty great job.
'Fast Five' wasn't the first movie in the 'Fast and the Furious' series to be good. The first movie is pretty well respected (especially in retrospect), while '2 Fast 2 Furious' can be thanked for the introduction of series regulars Roman and Tej.
Then we get to 'Tokyo Drift'. There was nobody in it (except for a cameo at the end by Vin Diesel) from either of the first two movies, and the whole "drifting" thing means cars don't drive as fast (see a problem?).
Of course, the fourth movie brought back most of the original cast members from the first movie, but it didn't quite perfect the whole "cars are not the main focus, just the tools used to do other stuff like perform heists and undercover busts" concept, so the movie ended up being another hot (albeit inspired) mess.
So it's a good thing 'Fast Five' came along. Otherwise, the series would have probably died a painful "straight-to-DVD" death.
It's a bit confusing since there are currently seven movies in the 'X-Men' series (and 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' is sort of a stand-alone prequel movie). However, 2013's 'The Wolverine,' being the second Wolverine solo movie, basically acts as a sequel to the 2009 disappointment. It made more sense, didn't mess around with the continuity like the first movie did, and took place in Japan, which is awesome.
The original 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' wasn't terrible, but it sure was dull. It had a massive budget, and what was it used on? Never-ending sequences of space patterns and reaction shots of the Enterprise crew members (over and over and over again). It took 20 stinking minutes just to get the ship out of spaceport.
So the sequel didn't exactly have anywhere to go but up. It may have had a smaller budget (wonder why), but the action was more frequent and more exciting, the story was better executed, and Khan himself made the movie brilliant.
The first installment in the series was decent, albeit slow and pretty dialogue-heavy. The sequel was a lot more of a mess. I've seen it maybe four times, and I still can't remember what the plot was about.
Then #3 came out in 2006 and BOOM, it was awesome. J.J. Abrams' first directorial effort proved to be a smashing success and led him to become one of the biggest action movie directors on the planet. Thankfully, the series has continued on its righteous path of getting bigger and better with each new entry.
No, the original 'Addams Family' wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly great either. The sequel really raised the bar, adding more macabre humor and introducing a few interesting new characters. The scenes where Wednesday and Pugsley are at summer camp are equally funny and surreal to watch.
The first movie was not so much bad as it was over-kitschy. The tone of the film is miles away from every other MCU movie and, in retrospect, it has sort of become that "ah crap I have to see the first one before I can get to the good one" movie that everyone quietly resents.
Plus, 'The Winter Soldier' kicked butt on so many levels that it made the original film look underdeveloped and uninspired. I still like 'The First Avenger,' but I'd toss it in a second if I had to choose between 1 and 2.
I know the original 'Night of the Living Dead' is considered a classic, but when you have 'Dawn of the Dead' on the screen in front of you, you'll sort of forget the retroactively tame original film. If 'Night of the Living Dead' premiered tomorrow, it would not receive good reviews, while 'Dawn of the Dead' is still just as watchable as it was back in 1978.
A million times better than the first film.
The first one was borderline bad, I think. It wasn't nearly self-deprecating enough. It tried too hard to be a serious action film, and the few giggly moments left the audience wanting more.
The second movie, however, took things to a whole new (and better) level with the humor thrown in. One-liners are everywhere, and the chemistry between the many memorable faces is wonderful to watch. '3' lost a bit of the magic, but let's hope '4' picks itself back up.
I was almost shocked, but then I realized 'Return of Jafar' was a thing.
The thing that made this Wolverine film the Wolverine we wanted was that it was rated R. The first two were PG-13 and ended up so cheesy and boring.
Great movie! Action, emotion, fast pacing, and great acting make for a bloody good film!
The first two were garbage, but this one redeemed it.
Yeah, I didn't like the original that much, so this is much better!
I liked neither of the first 'Cars' movies. Even though this one is just decent, it ended on the highest note this franchise possibly could have reached.
'Cars 1' was good, but 'Cars 2' kinda sucked. This one redeemed the franchise.
Though it didn't perform as well at the box office as the first one, this movie was a big improvement over the first film. This movie focuses more on the turtles themselves and their development, unlike the first film where they were essentially plot elements for April.
It also took itself way less seriously and had more humor, making it feel more like a Ninja Turtles movie than the cookie-cutter blockbuster that was the first film. It actually FEELS like a Ninja Turtles movie.
Overall, this is what the first movie should have been and is recommended - funny, action-packed, and super fun as a result.
