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My last post covered some amazing films that really didn’t need sequels at all, but got them anyway.  That’s not to say that all the sequels were bad, but they were generally inferior to the original production.  For this post, I’m going to be specifically talking about certain movies that deserve a sequel, but haven’t gotten one.  I’m also going to be including movies that while the film may not have been overly successful, a sequel is still a real possibility.  Let’s give it a go, shall we?

Power Rangers

When Power Rangers showed up in March, I was very surprised at how good the movie actually was.  My expectations for this film were understandably low.  What we ended up getting was a very compelling coming-of-age story with teenagers that actually felt like real people dealing with real problems.  The teenagers were very 3-dimensional and were very likable.  I also liked the fact that they had to earn the right to become Power Rangers.  This new film served as a film reboot of the highly popular Power Rangers franchise, and I feel that it did a really good job.  The suits were awesome and surprisingly NOT CGI.  Certain elements of the suits were, but the suits themselves were built from scratch.  The film didn’t exactly flop in the box-office, but the international response was not what the film-makers had in mind.  It has yet to open in Japan, from what I understand, but the future of the film franchise is up in the air at this point.  It’s a shame, because it is a very good movie.  It’s got a great story with fantastic characters and visuals that are pretty decent.  The word on the interwebs is that Lionsgate Studios and Haim Saban, the creator of Power Rangers are in talks to try and get a sequel made.  It looks very possible that we might get a Power Rangers 2.  The original plan was for at least 6 movies, but I’m not entirely sure that will happen.  We may get lucky with a trilogy, but I don’t see it progressing further than that if they don’t address some of the problems that the first movie had.  I’m actually fairly optimistic about this one, though.

Dredd

This one’s a bit of a heart-breaker, because we know this one WON’T be getting a sequel.  It’s too bad really, because the 2012 adaptation of Judge Dredd is a surprisingly visceral and brutal experience that underscores how brutal the character is.  This one hurts because the film was universally praised for it’s unflinching and violent take on the character, who was brilliantly portrayed by Karl Urban.  They took everything that was great about the character and the world that Dredd inhabits and gave it a very stylistic and bloody look at the world.  It was very simple story that had some very extraordinary characters.  Unfortunately, the film bombed at the box office.  People were rightfully wary that the film was going to be too much like Sylvester Stallone’s film, so that had a lot to do with it.  Home video sales didn’t really help much, either.  It’s a shame, because it’s such a fantastic action film that pulls no punches.

Warcraft

Here’s another one that I feel needs a sequel and one that may eventually happen.  Warcraft, based on the popular video game franchise by Blizzard Entertainment, was met with mixed to negative reviews in the states and was considered a massive flop here.  In China, though, the film was a major success.  It’s entirely possible that because of the film’s international success, we might see another one.  I would certainly hope so.  Warcraft was a surprisingly decent movie that was faithful to the game.  The sets, the costumes and the character designs all look like they came out of the video game.  Now, Duncan Jones, the director of the film, has ideas on where to take another Warcraft film if Universal decides to go for it.  I’m not as optimistic about this one as I am about Power Rangers, but I’m secretly hoping that Universal will go for it.  There’s so much more story to be told.

Willow

Willow is one of those movies that manages to set up a very interesting movie, but didn’t do much to get a sequel.  It’s a shame, because this is a very good fantasy film.  The best films are character-driven and it’s no exception here.  The characters in the film which include Willow himself, Madmartigan, and even the evil Queen Bavmorda are memorable.  Unfortunately, the film was met with a lackluster box-office performance and mixed reviews by both critics and audiences alike.  It’s sad, because there was a lot of stuff they could have done with the world of Willow.  The movie had it all: Excitement, adventure, comedy and drama.  It was a good old-fashioned fantasy film.  The effects were stunning and the music by James Horner was truly wonderful.  Unfortunately, money talks, and Willow didn’t make enough to warrant another entry.  The film did end up with novels that take place after the film, but they were not particularly well-received.  It’s tragic, really.

It’s funny:  I was expecting to have a lot more movies on this list, but when I started to really think about it, there aren’t a whole of movies out there that need sequels.  Some people would argue that most movies don’t need them.  That’s a fair enough statement, but sometimes a sequel can open up a film’s world quite a bit more and delve more into certain character backstories.  How does one judge that a movie gets a sequel or not?  Ultimately, it comes down to money and how well-received a film is, but mostly money.  In an industry that is peppered with sequels and remakes, these are the movies that I feel need to get sequels.

As I’m sure you’re all aware of, I’ve gone on many a tangent about the merits and detriments of movie sequels.  Long story short, I like GOOD sequels.  Sequels that not only give you more of what you already know but add new things to complement the old.  There are quite a few awesome sequels out there.  I’ve done lists about some of my favorite sequels of all time.  I’ve also done lists about some of the worst sequels of all time.  But for this list, I’m going to do something a little different.  I’m going to talk about great movies that got sequels/prequels that they didn’t need or deserve.  This will be a two-part project.  This first part is about movies that didn’t need a sequel, while part 2 will be about movies that definitely NEED one.  Some of these will seem rather….obvious, while others may seem somewhat questionable.  With all that said, let’s get into it.

Highlander

Highlander is one of those movies that’s hard to explain why it’s so damn good.  When it was released in the states, it flopped hard.  Internationally, people ate it up.  I guess people in the states weren’t quite ready for sword-fights in New York City.  The concept actually works on a narrative level.    It’s got awesome characters, a story that you can sink your teeth into, and a villain that is simply iconic.  Highlander got not one, not two, not three, but FOUR sequels.  Highlander II tried to explain the origins of the immortals by saying that they came from a different planet.  Also, there was an environmental message in there.  It definitely didn’t work.  It was a complete disaster.  It went over-budget and was poorly received at the box-office.  While subsequent home video releases would eliminate the whole Planet Zeist angle, it didn’t help the fact that the movie was poorly made and poorly directed.  Michael Ironside was cool though.  Highlander: The Final Dimension and Endgame both sidestepped Highlander II, but failed to connect.  The less said about Highlander: The Source, the better.  Highlander: Endgame was by far the most interesting of the sequels, I thought.  It tried to combine elements from Christopher Lambert’s movies with Adrian Paul’s TV show.  It kinda worked.  The highlight of the film was definitely the fight scenes, many of which were choreographed by the legendary Donnie Yen, who also starred as Jin Ke.  Of the sequels, Endgame is the best, but it would’ve been better if the sequels didn’t exist at all.

Jaws

Jaws is what many consider to be the first major blockbuster film.  It shattered all kinds of records and kick-started Steven Spielberg’s career as a director.  Why is it so good?  It’s more about the characters having to deal with a shark rather than the shark itself.  The characters are all very interesting and come across as genuine human beings.  Obviously, Robert Shaw’s Quint steals the show, but Richard Dreyfuss comes pretty damn close.  The movie worked because you didn’t see the shark until about three quarters of the way through the film.  Instead, John Williams’ score took the place of the shark and really amped up the tension.  It’s about as perfect a thriller as you could get.  The sequels never came close.  The second film was a re-hash of the film and pulled its punches.  Jaws 3 embraced its b-movie silliness and ran with it, but it was still not a good movie.  Jaws: The Revenge is easily the worst film in the series and pretty much grounded the entire franchise.  You can read my review on it by clicking on the Dunce Corner tab.  The problem with the sequels and most shark movies is that they focus more on the shark rather than the characters.  It’s the characters that drive the story, not the beast.  The original film remains untouchable and is still the king of shark movies.

Taken

Taken is probably one of the most iconic movies of Liam Neeson’s career.  His threat to his daughter’s kidnappers is legitimately scary and he goes about tearing through Paris to find her.  This works, because the premise is simple, yet very effective.  It’s a father looking for his daughter using “a particular set of skills.”  It’s not the most original premise, but it’s executed fairly well featuring a very strong performance from Liam Neeson.  The sequels were nothing more than obvious cash-grabs.  The second film isn’t awful, but it retreads a lot of the same territory that the first movie already covered.  The third movie?  It’s a complete waste.  It’s extremely derivative of better films like The Fugitive.  It also doesn’t help that the editing is crap.  It’s like the director/editor went to the Michael Bay School of Editing.  Honestly, stick with the first movie, it’s infinitely better.

The Matrix

A lot has been said about The Matrix Trilogy.  Most people tend to agree that the sequels are significantly inferior to the original film.  The Matrix, which was released back in 1999 was revolutionary.  Not only did the film offer a unique cyberpunk story, but it also pioneered a new level of visual effects.  On top of that, you had a really strong cast featuring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving.  The Matrix had a very mind-warping concept that utilized Rene Descartes as its inspiration.  It all came together very well, but it also had some of the best fight choreography seen in Hollywood movies.  Why?  The kung-fu sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping, one of the best fight choreographers that Hong Kong has to offer.  The sequels would try to explore more of the world of The Matrix including Zion, the fabled city which was mentioned in the first movie, but never seen.  That was pretty cool.  However, the film gets bogged down by mindless philosophical mumbo-jumbo in an attempt to be more clever than it actually was.  The final movie was even worse, with a climax that was so out of left-field and so anti-climactic that it’s been constantly mocked.  You didn’t need the sequels, the first film was good enough.

The Crow

The Crow is one of the best comic-book movies ever made.  Period.  Everything about this film from the soundtrack to the visuals was sublime.  The acting was amazing and the action was brutally spectacular.  Brandon Lee was truly at the top of his game when he tragically died on set.  One could make the argument that the film is memorable for that reason, and one would not be wrong.  It’s difficult to say whether or not the film would be as good had Mr. Lee not been killed.  That being said, The Crow was one of the defining films of the early 90s.  It featured a hard-rock soundtrack coupled with a Gothic visual style that has been often imitated but never duplicated.  This was one film where any sequel would feel insulting.  Yet, we got three of them.  City of Angels is the best sequel, but it’s by no means a good movie.  It’s just a carbon copy of the original film only not as well-done.  The worst offender has to be Wicked Prayer which featured Edward Furlong as the lead character.  Big mistake, bad movie.  The less said about it, the better.  The Crow is one of my favorite movies of all time and few movies have been able to match its power.

Those are some of my picks for movies that really didn’t a sequel, but got anyway.  I hope you enjoyed this list as much as I had making it.  Stay tuned for the movies that NEED a sequel, coming soon to a website near you.

The past 17 years have seen their fair share of cinematic misfires.  Movies like The Room, Daredevil, Gods of Egypt, and Jupiter Ascending have all been massive failures on nearly every level.  That’s not to say that every movie that failed at the box office was a bad movie.  Far from it.  Either nobody knows these movies existed or people simply weren’t interested.  This past January has seen multiple releases including a new Underworld, xXx, and Resident Evil.  January is not the best time to release a movie.  That being said, I’m going to be looking at upcoming movies that could possibly bomb at the box office.  Again, this is not necessarily indicative of the film’s quality, but whether or not it attracts enough attention.  I’m going to be discussing the more mainstream films that are going to be wide-releases, not the smaller movies, because those can be kind of niche and have their own audience.  So…let’s jump into it, shall we?

Fifty Shades Darker

How the original film, Fifty Shades of Grey, made as much money as it did, is beyond my capacity to understand.  It was a dreadful film in nearly every aspect, from the acting to the sex and overall story.  The new one, Fifty Shades Darker is set to pick up where the last film left off.  I won’t describe the story because, what’s the point?  Most people who go to movies like this aren’t going to be seeing the film for the story, but rather, the….naughty bits.  Considering that the original material of the Fifty Shades stories are nothing more than Twilight fan-fiction, I don’t understand how people can think that these are good movies.  I could be wrong, and it could do well at the box office.  I don’t see it happening though, because the original film was slammed by EVERYONE.  It wasn’t even THAT provocative.  Apparently the book was much more….descriptive.  I haven’t read the book, so don’t take my word for it.

The Great Wall

I don’t think there’s any real doubt about how this one’s going to turn out.  This one’s going to fail.  Big time.  From my perspective, it does look interesting and anything to do with China or China’s history/mythology is going to grab my attention.  However, if you understand the actual history behind The Great Wall of China, this movie is going to come across as very…WTF?  I really do like Matt Damon, as he is an incredibly likable and competent actor, but I don’t really see a purpose for him being in a movie like this.  I know for sure that Matt Damon’s character is somehow going to end up being the hero at the end of the day, and it just doesn’t make any kind of sense.  This movie has got Gods of Egypt-style failure written all over it.

Kong: Skull Island

This is one that could go either way.  We haven’t had a King Kong movie since Peter Jackson’s attempt at remaking the original 1933 creature feature.  It looks very, very cool and it’s got some really top-notch actors including Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman, John C. Reilly and Samuel L. Jackson.  From a visual standpoint, this movie looks amazing.  I’m actually digging the story behind this one.   Peter Jackson’s film ended up being TOO long at 3 hours and some of the visual effects were not particularly good.  Also, it starred Jack Black and I was not and still not a fan of that guy.  I’m not entirely sure this one’s really going to connect with people.

Power Rangers

While this one ended up being on my most anticipated list of 2017, it’s also got the potential to be one of the biggest bombs of the year.  I hope it doesn’t bomb, because I really like what I see.  It’s a little bit grittier than the original show, but it looks like it’s going to have that camp factor built in.  Besides, we’ve got Bryan Cranston as Zordon.  As a fan of the original show, I’m glad they decided to go with the original characters of Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Billy, and Zack.  Rita Repulsa’s look is actually pretty damn cool.  The Zords look awesome as well.  This one could go either way, but I really hope it will succeed.

Smurfs: The Lost Village

I’m genuinely surprised that someone’s actually attempting to do ANOTHER Smurfs movie.  The last two movies were absolutely abysmal in nearly every aspect.  That being said, I’m glad that they’re just going with straight-up animation instead of combining it with live-action.  It looks decent enough, and I’ll still check it out, but I think most people are going to avoid this one like the plague.  I don’t blame them, either.  They got burned twice before.  This is the kind of film that they should have been going for from the beginning.  This is not going to succeed at all.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

This is another one that ended up being one of my most anticipated movies for this year.  It looks fun and it could be pretty damned epic.  However, it does have that Lord of the Rings-ish vibe about it that may not sit well with a lot of people.   Not to mention that the last movie about King Arthur wasn’t particularly well-received by either critics or audiences.  I’m definitely going to go see this one, but I have this sneaky suspicion that most people are just going to pass it by in favor of the more popular comic-book movies.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

You know, I have to wonder how long this series is going to continue.  I know that Johnny Depp loves playing Captain Jack Sparrow, and I enjoy watching him play the character, but the last couple of movies have not been good.  On Stranger Tides was just…bizarre, with mermaids, Captain Blackbeard, and the Fountain of Youth.  It was just not that good.  It also ended up being a domestic flop because it didn’t even make back the 250 million dollar budget.  Sure, it ended up bringing home the money from international viewings, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that the film was a domestic bomb.  I don’t see Pirates 5(name’s too long) being any better.  Some franchises I have no problems with continuing.  Pirates is one that just needs to end.  I might skip the theatrical run for this one.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

It’s not very often that you see a movie that basically has “Box Office Flop” written all over it.  While the other movies that I have mentioned in this post may or may not be flops, I’m pretty damn sure this one will be.  Visually, it looks stunning.  It’s got a lot of originality to it.  However, so did Jupiter Ascending, and we all know how that one turned out.  This looks like Luc Besson’s attempt at making something grand and epic, only to see it fall flat on its face.  I can almost guarantee you that it will.  Apparently the film is based on a French comic-book series that nobody’s heard of, so I don’t see how people are going to connect with this.  This is going to be an absolute train-wreck.

These are the movies that I think may bomb the hardest.  I’m not entirely sure on some of them.  The others though, I’m dead certain will be failures, financially anyway.