Why Do Most Sequels Suck?

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DwayneA

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Too many times to count have I read in movie reviews that it "wasn't as good as the first." Why do most movie sequels suck?
 

Smileycat

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Biggest reason is because they didn't put me in charge of making the sequel non-sequelish.
 

childeroland

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Because instead of creating a story from the ground up, filmmakers/studios take the elements from the previous film that are easiest to sell--explosions, half-nude girls, whatever--and shoehorn them into the story without regard to whether or not they fit the story or are appropriate to it. The story isn't its own reason for being but is instead a collection of elements from its predecessor.
 

Shadow_Ferret

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I usually hate first movies because, take the superhero genre as an example, they spend more than half the movie doing the origin of the character and establishing relationships. The sequels, more than likely, can get right to the nuts and bolts action of the story without all that superfluous nonsense.

I can think of any number of sequels that were just as good as the first. James Bond series. The Lethal Weapon series. And if you go back further, you have Sherlock Holmes. Tarzan. Charlie Chan.

And in the case of Mad Max, the sequel was superior to the first.
 

Lhun

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Sturgeon's Law. Most of everything is crap. Sequels are no exception.
Good movies are a rare exception, and the odds that a movie and its sequel are both exceptionally good are low.
 

ceenindee

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I like sequels. I often find the second movie in a series to be the best one.

I tend to agree. But I wonder if that only applies to movies that are planned as trilogies/series, as opposed to movies that get slapdash sequel treatment once studios realize how unexpectedly successful they are.
 

katiemac

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Many times, the writers/directors do not return for sequels.
 

DavidZahir

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A lot of the time, the idea behind a sequel is to reproduce the "fun stuff" from the first film rather than tell another chapter in the story.

Example of a sequel that broke this rule and is excellent: Godfather Part 2.
 

Cyia

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Movie 1 - OMG! it's so good, best thing ever! Gimmee Moarrrrrrrr!

Movie 2 - Quick! Write another one before they get over the wave from the 1st one! The actors are under contract, they don't have a choice! $$$$$$$
 

kuwisdelu

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Anything for which there is a guaranteed audience, the makers are going to be tempted to be lazy, since they know many people will see it anyway.
 

Freelancer

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Not all sequel sucks, but only very few is better then the first one. i.e. I consider Aliens and Terminator 2 as very good sequels that are different, yet has the same quality then the first ones.

Usually the quick money scheme is the primary reason. The problem is the quality / quantity stuff. Major studios believes the name itself is garanteeing the success. So they're accepting a low quality script in most cases, adding dozens of CGI scenes to have a chance to add good scenes into the advertisments and... that's all (I think here for fantasy and sci-fis.). As for other genre (Thrillers, horrors.)... sometimes the the same quality and success cannot be achieved in a sequel, because the story was developed only for one movie, not for a sequel, trilogy or quadrilogy.

If the studios would take a bit more time to take a look at the script itself, the sequels could be good enough. Unfortunately in the movie world, where in most cases the explosions, senseless CGI parades are dominating, scripts are just secondary or worse, tertiary elements in the eyes of the studios.

And the last problem, studios are not famous about daring to create new ideas, rather creating remakes, disguised as sequels. Same jokes, same setup, etc, etc...

But as I said, everything would depend on the script, yet when the script is a tertiary element, don't count for a miracle in the sequels or sometimes in the original products.

Movie 1 - OMG! it's so good, best thing ever! Gimmee Moarrrrrrrr!
Movie 2 - Quick! Write another one before they get over the wave from the 1st one! The actors are under contract, they don't have a choice! $$$$$$$
But Cyia's points summarized this completely.
 

Camilla Delvalle

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I tend to agree. But I wonder if that only applies to movies that are planned as trilogies/series, as opposed to movies that get slapdash sequel treatment once studios realize how unexpectedly successful they are.
Yes, some of the movies I thought about are parts of trilogies. But some are not. I'll give of list of series where I like the second movie most:

Star Wars (old trilogy)
Star Wars (new trilogy)
Lord of the Rings
Terminator
Matrix
Alien
Dungeons & Dragons
American Pie
Legally Blonde
Death Note (live action)
Conan
Indiana Jones
Karate Kid
Pirates of the Caribbean
 

Lady Ice

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The makers are relying on the fanbase they got for the first film- a pretty large percentage of those will watch the second film. Instead of actively having to seek out viewers like they did the first time, they can be a bit lazy.

Also, if the joke/comic or dramatic situation has mileage, they tend to drag it out for a sequel. Tried and tested formula.

As well as sequels being rushed, the other problem is that often the first film is enough. There isn't really anywhere else to go so the makers have to force it.
 

robeiae

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Movie 1 - OMG! it's so good, best thing ever! Gimmee Moarrrrrrrr!

Movie 2 - Quick! Write another one before they get over the wave from the 1st one! The actors are under contract, they don't have a choice! $$$$$$$
Bingo.

The goal if the sequel is--more often than not--to simply make money of off the success of the first.
 

Diana Hignutt

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Not all sequels suck...case in point:

The Dark Knight

about as far from suck as things get.
 

KTC

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Movie 2 - Quick! Write another one before they get over the wave from the 1st one! The actors are under contract, they don't have a choice! $$$$$$$

Anything for which there is a guaranteed audience, the makers are going to be tempted to be lazy, since they know many people will see it anyway.

Yep. Often, they are merely chasing the heat. Grabbing at the cash from those who liked the original.
 

Psybolt

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Sequels don't have to suck, but I think if you look at all of the sequels, the percent of good ones go down quickly. Can we all come up with sequels that were better than the original? Of course. Personally I thought Spider-man 2 was much better than one. Empire Strikes Back is probably the best movie of the series.

I still think this is the exception instead of the rule. And I agree that the sequel is basically based in money instead of quality.
 

Chris P

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As someone hinted above, I think they rely on the familiarity of the characters rather than story to sell the movie. There are very good sequels, of course, but many are based on "let's have the same characters do mostly the same thing they did last time."
 
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