Nicholas D'Ambrosio Movies are one of the most popular forms of entertainment today; millions of people across the globe come together to watch and immerse themselves in the many characters and plots. When a movie is a hit with audiences and the box office, big studios get talking about a sequel. A sequel can not only improve on the original movie but can even surpass and become even better. But sometimes this doesn’t happen: sometimes a sequel can be worse than the original, and sometimes the sequel can ruin the reputation of a franchise.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere are multiple reasons why a movie can be so much worse than the original, the main one being that a sequel is too far removed from the original. When it comes to sequels, you have to make sure to bring back everyone from the previous film to keep the movie consistent with the first. If a sequel had a completely different writing team compared to the last, there are bound to be major changes that apply to the new writers rather than the original audience. A new writer’s ideas will sometimes miss the original intent or charm that the previous writer had and what the previous audience liked.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe second major reason why a sequel could bomb is the time between it and the original. A sequel made years after the original, without much demand, is what’s called a “cash grab”. Cash grabs are made without the love and care that went into the original; they were made solely to make money by targeting the nostalgia of old fans. It is really obvious to tell when a movie is a cash grab, with how much soul they lack compared to the first.
Not all sequels are bad; there have been many times when they surpass the first. Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future 2, Terminator 2, and Aliens are all considered great, and even better than their respective first films. What makes these movies so good compared to sequels that have failed? These movies took their time with writing and putting everything together. Movies like The Empire Strikes Back and Back to the Future 2 had their sequels planned from the start, so when making them, they already knew what to do.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe quality of a movie is most determined by how much work gets put into it. When it comes to sequels, executives think they can get a bit lazier because the fact that the movie is a sequel is enough to carry it.
Nicholas D’Ambrosio is a sophomore member of the multimedia journalism class
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