Sequels

Sequels are a funny thing. After reading an article on EW.com last week about the 15 best sequels, I've been thinking about them. They're hit or miss. Because of this, they cannot be generalized: I can't say every sequel is great, or that every threequel sucks, or vice versa.

Because of the prevalence of Shrek 4 commercials, I'm finding myself debating whether I should rush to see it because of this very problem-- Shrek 2 was awesome in my book, but Shrek 3 was god awful. Really, I have no desire to watch it again. (I have a problem with it primarily because of how they had to explain their jokes. Wasn't that what was so awesome with the first two? You could watch them over and over and catch new, hilarious things every time?) And what about Spider-man? Spiderman 2 was bomb. Three? Not as much. It wasn't the worst movie of all time, but it tried too hard. There were too many villians and too many threads of storyline, too many attempts to be funny and failing (That dance scene, anyone? Yeah, I can't watch it without feeling really uncomfortable and I don't know who can.) Terminator 2 was awesome, the third was a joke (the fourth was not too bad, however, IMO.) The Mummy 2 was cool but I actually walked out of the most recent one (and I NEVER do that). X2 was by far my favorite X-Men movie, while The Last Stand just didn't have the magic and Wolverine was simply embarrassing.

But think of Oceans' 11, 12, and 13! Twelve sucked and 13 rocked. An example of redemption! And what about Indiana Jones? The Last Crusade was much, much better than Temple of Doom (though I still love that movie-- don't judge me.)

But then there are few movie series that just keep getting better, like Lord of the Rings. The second was great, the third was even better. The Dark Knight kicked ass. Star Wars (the original trilogy-- I can't even talk about the prequel trilogy) was amazing and classic (Happy Star Wars Day btw: May the Fourth be with you!) I even think Pirates of the Caribbean did a pretty good job. But is there such thing as too much? There's too much Star Wars now, following Episodes 1,2, and 3 and everything Clone Wars, and they're trying to make another Pirates.

I think the only thing generalizable about sequels is that every animated Disney sequel is to be avoided. Other than that, the only way to find out is to check out new sequels/threequels/prequels for ourselves.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20355856_20365577,00.html