Best movie with the worst sequel?

[Orrex]

Successive sequels have a way of getting progressively worse, so let's confine the discussion to first sequels.

One that comes to mind is The Exorcist. Another is Psycho.


Your suggestions?

[underpants]

1. Die Hard

the second one was horrible
the third one was good

but none of them could possibly equal the first one

"I saw it on 60 Minutes"

[Orrex]

2. Good one!

I watched the original again about a week ago. A lot of it seems dated now because it's been copied so many times, but it was still a lot better than I'd remembered.

And the scene with that "60 Minutes" yuppie is just so viscerally satisfying!

[Common Sense Party]

35. The fourth was pretty fun. Nothing tops the first, though. n/t

[Recovered Repug]

45. When Die Hard 3 was shown on AMC's DVD onTV

it said that DH3 was originally pitched as a Lethal Weapon sequel. Has nothing to do with the topic, but I thought it was interesting.

[OmahaBlueDog]

3. I think I've got this figured out

As warm ups:

Daddy Day Care is a reasonably funny movie; the sequel, Daddy Day Camp, is awful

Some will say Rocky: Rocky II is watchable, Rocky III is prety good, a lot of people like the most recent "Rocky Balboa" - the rest are awful

Godfather III is not a worthy sequel to Godfather II: ditto Force 10 From Navarrone as a sequel to the original The Guns of Navaronne.

I am excluding the Porkys and American Pie sequels from the discussion.


The winner, in my mind, has to be "The Sting II" with Jackie Gleason and Mac Davis trying to pull off being Newman and Redford.

[elshiva]

4. I actually love ALL the American Pie films.

[OmahaBlueDog]

9. You generally either love them or hate them as a bunch

Same with Porkys


I also excluded many Disney sequels because they were non-theatrical/STV sequels.

[elshiva]

14. I agree with you there, although I haven't seen any of the Porky movies.

Yes, there are a lot of weird Disney sequels out there. I saw a pretty awful sequel to "Alladin," when I was helping my mom babysit. I guess you're right in that they don't really count because you only see these movies if you have little kids and you have gotten to the bottom of the barrel.

[Hippo_Tron]

91. Agreed, it's really the same movie just 3 different times

[Orrex]

7. Mercifully, I had forgotten all about 'The Sting II'

Thanks a lot, you fink.

I thought about Force 10. Even though I haven't seen it in decades, I know that it sucks, especially compared to the first.

Regarding Rocky II et al, I was really hoping to confine the question to first sequels. That is, we can talk about Rocky II but not Rocky IV.


Another one that just occurred to me was The Last Days of Patton. I may be wrong on the title, but IIRC it was a made-for-tv movie showing Patton's demise following the "jeep accident." George C. Scott reprised the role, but it was an unworthy successor to the original.

[TZ]

5. Jurrasic Park

And what was done in the novel sequence was even worse...dr. Malcolm dies in thecoriginal novel and the excuse for him being alive inThe Lost World was hideous

[Orrex]

10. I read the novel in 91 or so, and I was SURE that I remembered Malcolm dying

Don't the raptors come in through a skylight or something? And didn't Hammond die amid a swarm of Compsognathuseses?

[TZ]

18. Yeah Hammond dies

But I don't remember him coming back in Lost World

[Orrex]

21. I guess I should have posted a SPOILER ALERT in my subject line

I didn't read the second novel. Actually, I could barely stand Crichton's writing even before I knew anything about his politics.

[charlie and algernon]

66. the novels

the novels flip who lives and dies. in the first one, Muldoon and Gennero live and Malcolm and Hammond die. To be fair, Crighton also has Malcolm come back to life in the 2nd novel. The ONLY thing the novels have in common with the movies are the names of the characters and the fact there are dinosaurs on an island.

[EastTennesseeDem]

6. You win. It's The Exorcist

Yeah.

[gmoney]

8. Caddyshack... hands down.

Ugh... how they could even call it a sequel, who knows?

Unless maybe you consider the Star Wars I, II & III as a sequel to SW, Empire, and Jedi... from gold to turds.

[Orrex]

12. Another good one!

Randy Quaid was funny in a few spots, but overall watching it was like getting kicked repeatedly in the stomach.

[Common Sense Party]

36. Winner. We walked out of the theater during the sequel.

It was horrible.

[Common Sense Party]

37. Back to the Future would be up there.

The first was not the best movie ever, but it was fun and still holds up 20+ years later.

Parts 2 and 3 were atrociously bad, and not even remotely entertaining.

[Recovered Repug]

44. The sequels of Back To The Future,

Pirates Of The Caribbean (another qualifier) and The Matrix all have the same problem. They filmed the two sequels at the same time and ended up with a long movie in 2 parts - and neither part very good.

[OmahaBlueDog]

11. Part of the problem with the Exorcist II: The Heretic, IIRC...

...was Burton's drinking. I recall an interview shortly before Richard Burton's death, in which he talked about films in which he was so drunk, he has little or no memory of actually having made them. One was The Klansman, and the other, I believe, was E II.

[Orrex]

15. If I'd made a movie that bad, I'd claim to have been drunk, too

Especially if I'd been Richard Burton in all of my previous films!

:evilgrin:

[DerekG]

13. I thought Psycho II was great

Are you sure you're not thinking of III and IV?

[Orrex]

17. Now that you mention it, maybe I am!

I don't think I even knew that there was a IV, but maybe III is contaminating my memory.

[XemaSab]

16. The Matrix

x(

[Orrex]

19. Bravo!

The first was an amazing film brilliantly conceived and exquisitely matched to the tone of the late 90's. The other two films were crap from start to finish.

[flvegan]

20. Nope. The Exorcist wins easily.

[Adsos Letter]

22. "Gettysburg" was pretty good, if the Civil War interests you...

but "Gods and Generals" was like enduring a root-canal, sans anesthesia, while Amway presentations blare from earphones strapped to yer head...

[EastTennesseeDem]

23. Would that count?

G&G is technically a prequel.

I would consider Gettysburg more than "pretty good" personally, but your description of G&G is spot on.

[Adsos Letter]

30. I was thinking in terms of G&G being released after Gettysburg...

and you're right, it was better than "pretty good"...I just wish they would have taken the money/time spent on G&G, and put it into more of what happened on the second day: Peach orchard, etc. But, I suppose the idea was to follow the 20th Maine around.

[gratuitous]

24. Chinatown

Absolutely perfect movie, no need to see The Two Jakes.

[Orrex]

25. I agree, and I haven't

China Town was so good that, watching it, I completely forgot that John Huston was the voice of Gandalf.

[Lethe]

26. Escape from New York

or Ghostbusters

[Orrex]

27. Haven't seen Escape from LA, but you're right about Ghostbusters

The second one seemed so obviously desperate and lame.

[Lethe]

29. well that's what Escape From LA was like

they had Snake shooting hoops on a basketball court, and surfing on giant waves with Peter Fonda

whereas the original took itself semi-serious, the remake was total camp and hyperbole

plus it had Lee Van Cleef.

[Forkboy]

39. Escape From L.A. is easily one of the worst movies ever made.

As a huge Godzilla fan you'd think camp wouldn't bother me....but fuck that was a dumb film.

[Lethe]

41. i agree

Escape From New York was pretty awesome tho

it had a slight level of campiness but enough seriousness to give it credibility

[Forkboy]

42. Love the first one.

I wanted to be Snake Pliskin after seeing it. After seeing the second one I wanted to kill Snake Pliskin. :)

[Orrex]

28. Another one: Robocop

Fans of the sequel make all kinds of excuses for it, but I watched it again within the past week, and it's a stinker.

Hell, I'll even admit that I saw it in a theater, such were my expectations. Aside from the genuinely cool design of the Kane cyborg, the whole thing was a terrible disappointment from start to finish.

Fun fact: after Robocop II had a strong debut weekend, Chris Connelly on MTV News said with a smirk, "let's see how it does next weekend." He was not incorrect!

[gmoney]

31. Robocop III was the worstest ever...

Worser than Plan 9

[Initech]

32. The Whole Nine Yards

[Orrex]

53. I've actually never seen either of them. Was the first one good?

[stklurker]

68. Whole Nine Yards

Agree.. first one was a riot... 2nd one sucked

[CreekDog]

33. Ghostbusters

but, boy, the second one really stunk!

Pee Wee's Big Adventure was really good, the second one was sleep-inducing.

Poltergeist was pretty good, Poltergeist II sucked really bad.

[Orrex]

52. I totally forgot about Poltergeist II, and not without good reason

The creepy old guy at the door is good, but the rest of the film is horrible.

[wickerwoman]

34. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Last Crusade was great but the middle one (Temple of Doom?) was just ass from start to finish.

Also, if we don't have to start with the first movie in the series, I'd nominate Aliens -> Alien 3.

[Orrex]

51. Alien 3 is a really good film IMO

Much better than it's commonly credited to be. The only unambiguously crappy thing about it is the way they killed Hicks and Newt. At least Bishop got a curtain call.

Alien 3 features some of the finest moments of character in any of the films IMO.


I don't care too much for Last Crusade, either, nor any of the other sequels. Whereas Raiders was a terrific adventure film about a great character, the other three always seem like the result of a studio desperately trying to make a movie about a character like that Indiana Jones guy.

[Recovered Repug]

38. Eddie Murphy made a couple that qualify.

Another 48 Hrs (aptly named because it was exactly like the first 48 Hrs except without the humor). Beverly Hills Cop 2 was a clunker. Crocodile Dundee 2 could have remained unmade, too (OK Eddie wasn't in that one but it sucked).

[Forkboy]

43. Good list...you're right on all three.

Though I'd argue that the first Crocodile Dundee didn't need to be made either.

:hide:

;)

[Orrex]

50. In terms of narrative, Crocodile Dundee II's heart was in the right place

By reversing the sequence of the first (start in Sue's world, end in Mick's), the sequel attempted to give closure to the overall story, and there were some really good moments throughout, once you accept the Crocodile Dundee mythology.

But the sequence with the "punks," including what must be Iggy Pop's worst song ever, was incredibly lame even when the movie came out, when the 80s hadn't yet begun to seem like a big hair nightmare.

You're right about those two Eddie Murphy films, though.

[Forkboy]

40. Hopefully not the upcoming sequel to The Thing.

But I'm not very confident on this one.

The sequel to the original Godzilla, Godzilla Raids Again (Gigantis The Fire Monster in the States) is pretty weak. Oh sure, I watch it all the time, but that's just because it still has the big guy in it and I'm a G-Junkie. No characters worth a damn, music taken from an older sci-fi film, film speeds that are wrong in the monster fight scene (the film was left fast as they fight, as opposed to filming in it slow motion to give it that sense of mass as they do in every other film), and a drawn out ending sequence that has no drama at all and makes no sense (you can't bury a creature who can breath fire in ice, but maybe that's just me).

It does, however, feature George Takei in the dub uttering the great line, "Oh banana oil!"

For modern day crap it has to be Jurassic Park 2. The third one is no masterpiece, but compared to number 2 it's Citizen Kane.

Oh, and Nightmare on Elm Street 2 sucked hard as well, but even though a lot of people love it I didn't really like any of them, so factor that in. :)

[Orrex]

49. I saw Gigantis within the last year or so

A Pittsburgh program called It's Alive aired it as one of the weekly features, and you're right--it is pretty weak!

Help me out here, by the way: I seem to recall a Godzilla movie that starts with Big G being accidentally liberated from an iceberg. Was that King Kong vs. Godzilla, or am I thinking of another film?

[Forkboy]

72. You are correct.

King Kong vs Godzilla was it.

Well remembered. :)

[Recovered Repug]

46. According to Entertainment Weekly,

Staying Alive is the worst sequel ever. For anyone interested here's a complete list, if you dare.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1169126,00.html

[gmoney]

54. Blues Brothers 2000... I'd blocked that from my mind.

The question here is not the worst movie that's a sequel, but what's the greatest quality gap between an outstanding original and its horrid sequel.

I'd argue that despite the spiffy dancing (!), Saturday Night Fever wasn't a very good movie. (I prefered Samurai Night Fever.)

Caddyshack and Blues Brothers were both brilliant, but Caddyshack does suffer a bit because the Michael McKean story is the purported main story, and he has all the lamest bits, and there is the girlfriend with the horrid Irish accent. A lot of the scenes, while funny, are fairly random.

The Blues Brothers, on the other hand, were on a mission from Gawd. And Akroyd himself is directly involved in this desecration of John Belushi's corpse. So, upon consideration, I'd say the greatest quality difference is between the Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000 (which may be indicating that it's 1000 times worse than most "number 2's" so to speak).

[coyotespaw]

47. Ironically enough, the greatest movie ever had the worst sequel ever

Highlander. The original was a flawless example of what cinema could aspire to; the sequel was absolutely horrid.

[Orrex]

48. There Should Have Been Only One

When I saw Highlander II with a bunch of friends, we decided to stay only because we couldn't believe that it was so bad. Honestly, if you grabbed ten random men and women from anywhere in the world and put them in a room together, they'd make a better film in about four hours.

Truly, Highlander should have remained a stand-alone film. Everything that came after it served only to degrade the original.

[Rob H.]

56. So bad I'd blocked it from my memory

I actually paid to see it in the theater without reading any reviews first. HUGE mistake! They completely dismantled the mythology that had been created in the first film and, voilà, the immortals were actually aliens who had been banished to Earth.

:wtf:

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

63. Then you didn't see "Highlander II: Renegade Edition"

I had a college friend convince me to watch that, insisting that it "made the movie good".

It didn't.

Oh, they weren't aliens in this new edition. They were time travelers.

[Rob H.]

64. Time travelers?!? LOL

As if that was going to magically fix everything that was wrong with the movie? :spray:

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

73. Time travel would fix everything involved with the movie...

...but I'd have to go back in time and prevent them from making it.

[Mad_Dem_X]

55. Grease.

The first one was fantastic; the sequel was atrocious.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

57. The UNWATCHABLE, God-Awful Charles Grodin sequel to "A Christmas Story"

It Runs in the Family, also known as My Summer Story...living proof that lightning doesn't always strike twice.

Charles Grodin, Mary Steenburgen and two...that's right, TWO, not one...Culkins.

Charles Grodin ... Mr. Parker (The Old Man)
Kieran Culkin ... Ralph 'Ralphie' Parker
Mary Steenburgen ... Mrs. Parker (Mother)
Christian Culkin ... Randy Parker

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTIyNjkyMDEwOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzkwMzMzMQ@@._V1._SX278_SY400_.jpg

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110168/

It is now summer in the Parker family; and the usual amount of numerous events are happening in their separate lives. Ralphie is searching for the perfect top to use to beat the school bully with, the Old Man is in battle with their hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpus, while eagerly awaiting the discovery of the perfect fishing spot, and the Mother is attempting to collect all of the pieces of a glass china set at a local movie theater. Written by Richard Webner

[Orrex]

60. My God

I'd never even heard of that abomination.

And I've previously expressed my thoughts re: Charles Grodin here.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

62. Showtime put it into extra-heavy rotation when it was released...it was on virtually every day.

And the trademark Grodin whining was in overdrive. Seriously. Anyone who's ever watched a Charles Grodin movie and thought "I can't handle this guy's whining" needs to watch this train wreck. It makes his acting in virtually every other movie he's made look like The Collected Works Of Sir Ben Kingsley.

:rofl:

PS: To anyone thinking "Come on, it couldn't have been THAT bad," let me just say "it was."

:toast:

PSS: No, you wouldn't be wrong if you did that.

:rofl:

[gmoney]

74. Grodin's been pretty good in a few things...

Catch 22, The Lonely Guy, and Ishtar. Kind of loved his bizarre turn in the horrendous "You Can't Hurry Love"... "schmeckle."

According to IMDB, he's been in one (1) movie since 1994's "It Runs in the Family" -- sounds like a career killer of a film to me.

[Forkboy]

75. Midnight Run...easily his best.

"I can't fly. These things go down!"

[Dutch]

58. Predator

[Forkboy]

76. I actually like the second one better.

The first one is good, but it's super formulaic. All it is is a variation on a million slasher movies where you isolate a group of people and kill them off one by one until the last man standing saves the day. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie and I like it, but the second one was just fucked up in a way that appeals to me. :)

[MrSlayer]

59. Jaws.

And then Jaws 3 was even worse than 2.

[Orrex]

61. And don't forget Jaws IV

It was the original "this time it's personal" film!

[SoxFan]

70. A shark that eats a helicopter didn't do it for ya?

[charlie and algernon]

65. Shawskank Redemption 2: Battle for Mexico

Mexican drug lords kidnap Red and Andy and imprison them deep in the Mexican jungle. Their friendship is tested liked it's never been before. Can they find Redemption in Mexico??


Just you wait, it's coming....

[MrPerson]

67. The Passion of the Christ.

[jobycom]

85. Would that be "Easter: Payback of the Christ?" nt

[Blue_Tires]

69. The Sting

American Graffiti
Basic Instinct

[Rabrrrrrr]

88. I don't remember any of those having sequels

[Blue_Tires]

93. yeah, i blocked them from memory, too

the only good they serve is pulling them out for this very discussion...



The Sting II - www.imdb.com/title/tt0086370

Basic Instinct 2 - www.imdb.com/title/tt0430912

More American Graffiti - www.imdb.com/title/tt0079576

[Rabrrrrrr]

96. I now remember "More American Graffiti".

But I don't remember hearing about the other two, ever.

I can only imagine Basic Instinct 2 must have been a total shitpile.

[Blue_Tires]

98. Basic Instinct 2 was straight to DVD

[SoxFan]

71. Exorcist III, however, was actually very good

Unlike Exorcist II, it was based on a Blatty novel, Legion, which was a sort-of sequel to The Exorcist. Exorcist III's "nursing station" scene is one of the great moments in horror cinema.

[dysfunctional press]

77. the Godfather- Godfather 3

[Stuart G]

78. This sequel stinks to high heaven --Alien Resurection..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118583/

While Alien and Aliens were great, Aliens 3 passable..this thing of a film ruins every single aspect of the first three..

It is a true stinkeroo...stinks, stinks and stinks some more.

five pukes.....:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[Orrex]

80. Alien 4 was lousy, but the OP asked for worst *first* sequels

But let me repeat that I am not disputing the awfulness of Alien 4.

[Catch22Dem]

79. Major League

[Stuart G]

81. I recall vaguely a sequel to "Gone With the Wind" made in

the 80s?.(for TV)
..They say that one really stunk. I never saw it, did anyone?

[Orrex]

87. I think that Joanne Whaley saw it, but she's about the only one

That's a worthy suggestion, and it wouldn't even have occurred to me!

[JeffR]

82. There's only one possible answer.

Planet of the Apes

[Orrex]

86. Which was the first sequel?

Beneath the Planet of the Apes? Not the best film, I agree...

[JeffR]

89. Beneath, yes

The franchise finally recovered some dignity, but after Beneath, a lot of Apes fans had already tuned out.

[Kat45]

83. The Matrix.

Loved the first one. The third, which was supposed to make everything clear, only confused everything even more.

[RiffRandell]

84. Halloween.

The first one was awesome.

[Hippo_Tron]

90. Mission Impossible

The first one and the second one had absolutely nothing in common other than the title and Tom Cruise.

[Blue_Tires]

92. although I didn't even see the first two movies in the series

I can feel comfortable saying X-Men 3 and the Wolverine spin-off rank up there with the worst sequels as well...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

94. The Blair Witch Project

Despite some people complaining about the shaky camera work, I personally thought the original was a great film, if serindipidiously so. Its low budget and improvised script actually added a lot to its feeling of realism and creepiness. The fact that you never actually got to see the witch on screen, although frustrating to some, was a plus in my book. Left much more to your imagination, which CGI could have never made as scary.

Then they did the sequel at ten times the original budget and a script. It felt like your run of the mill, forgettable Grade B horror film.

[blue_onyx]

99. I thought they were equally bad

It wasn't the shaky camera work that bothered me. I just didn't think it was scary. The ending was particularly dumb.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

95. Austin Powers

The first one was genuinely funny and original, plus it had Elizabeth Hurley in it. Had they left well enough alone, it would have been perfect quirky little James Bond/1960s culture spoof.

But the second film totally screwed it all up. The opening scene totally ruined the whole point of the first film. A lot of the jokes were simply rehashes of jokes from the first film and lacking in originality. Mike Myers overextended himself in playing multiple characters. The Mini-Me and Fat Bastard characters distracted more than then they added to the story. Too much reliance on scatology and gross out "humor" as to actual humor in the first movie. And Heather Graham, while I certainly wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers, still is no Elizabeth Hurley IMHO, and Hurley did an infinitely better job at acting than Graham, who acted like she was reading off of cue cards.

[LynneSin]

97. I watched part of Speed this weekend and I did really like that movie

Keanu Reeves was smart to drop out of Speed II

:scared: