In an age where movie sequels and remakes basically rule the box-office, we’ve been seeing a number of sequels being made to film franchises that have been around for decades. Whether its Star Wars, Terminator, or Alien, unexpected sequels are being made for franchises that really didn’t need them. Don’t misunderstand, I’m grateful that some of these sequels exist, but at the same time, there are times when it feels like it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense making a follow-up film to a series that we thought had closure way back in the day. I know that film-makers are trying to cash in on nostalgia, and while I appreciate that on a certain level, nostalgia cannot be a main reason for making a sequel years, even decades after the previous film. I’ve gone on record with my opinions about remakes and sequels ad nauseum, so I won’t blather on about how I feel about sequels. Instead, I’m going to be taking a look at film franchises that have grown very long in the tooth and need to be put to rest, at least for the time being until film-makers can actually justify bringing these films back from the dead.
Terminator
I’m going to start with the most recent release: Terminator. Terminator: Dark Fate was released last Friday, November 1st to mixed reviews. Some people really enjoyed it, some people absolutely hated it, and both sides have valid reasons. Myself, I rather enjoyed Dark Fate a bit. That being said, the one thing that everybody can agree on, is that Dark Fate still falls extremely short of the standard that the original two films set. Why? I believe it was James Cameron’s lack of direct involvement, in my opinion. Granted, the man is really busy with his Avatar sequels, but he did step into the writing and producing roles for this film. Unfortunately, people aren’t going to see it because a lot of them are huge Terminator fans and what they see is nothing more than a re-hash of superior of films, and that is true. As a result, Dark Fate has only brought in 29 million dollars domestically 94 million dollars internationally. The total comes in at a lot less than the 185 million bucks that it cost to make the movie. In other words: Terminator: Dark Fate bombed. Big time. I don’t think it was just the SJW angle the film had, even though that was it, but I think it was more along the lines of franchise fatigue. The previous three films failed to rejuvenate a franchise that by all rights, should have ended with Terminator 2. Two of those films were intended to jump start new trilogies, but they failed to get off the ground, so we have another attempt at restarting the franchise, but it looks like the film series has stalled. It just goes to prove that even though James Cameron has his name on a movie, it doesn’t always guarantee success.
Rambo
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a huge fan of the Rambo films, even though the second and third films got really freakin’ cheesy. The original film is an absolute classic in every sense of the word, but that’s because the film was more than just an action film, it was a character study into how a Vietnam veteran is treated by everybody else and his response to that kind of treatment. The 4th film, took on a more real-world scenario dealing with Burma and the atrocities that were happening there. It was still a Rambo film, though, so it had over-the-top action and violence. Given how the 4th film ended with the character coming home to his father’s farm in Arizona, most people would’ve expected that to be the end of it. Nope. Apparently, Sylvester Stallone had at least one more film in him before hanging up the knife. Now, we have Rambo: Last Blood. While I thought the film was an absolute blast, the story and the writing here were paper-thin. I liked the interaction’s between Stallone’s Rambo and Yvette Monreal’s Gabrielle, but considering what ultimately happens to Gabby half-way through the film, I thought I would have cared a lot more about the characters than I did. While most audiences really dug the film, and I did too, Last Blood feels very tacked on with some really weak villains. I honestly don’t think it really needed to be made, since there was really nothing to say. It seems that Last Blood was intended to be Rambo’s last ride, and I hope it is. It was a film that nobody really asked for and the box office numbers are a testament to that. Last Blood wasn’t a complete bomb, but it wasn’t a success, either.
Star Wars
I can’t believe that I’m putting Star Wars on this list, but I am. I grew up watching Star Wars. It is one of my favorite film series of all time, which is why I want Disney to take a long hard look at what they intend to do with Star Wars after Episode IX. There are a lot of stories to be told in the Star Wars universe, and we’ve got The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan series to prove that. I enjoyed the hell out of The Last Jedi and to a much lesser extent, the Han Solo film, but a lot of people didn’t. In fact, Solo’s box-office performance was so underwhelming that it forced Disney to re-adjust how they handle the franchise. Certain projects were cancelled and some film-makers were either forced or chose to move on to other projects. Recently, the Game of Thrones writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, who were contracted to create their own Star Wars trilogy, left the project to pursue projects that were being produced by Netflix. The stranglehold that Disney has on Star Wars is unbelievable. Considering people’s reactions to Solo and The Last Jedi, I would’ve thought that Disney would have learned to be a bit more respectful to the series. I still plan on seeing The Rise of Skywalker next month, if only to close out the Skywalker saga. Honestly, I think Disney needs to give the Star Wars films a rest. They’ve been going hard with yearly releases and that hasn’t helped the franchise one bit. Again, we’re starting to see audiences suffer from some fatigue when it comes to Star Wars. I know I am, and I’m far more forgiving than your average fan.
Predator
The original Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of my favorite 80s action/sci-fi flicks. It’s a simple popcorn film that hits all the right notes. It starts off as your typical Commando-style film, but evolves into a seriously slasher-like/horror film that features one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time. The second film, while not as good as the original, still managed to be quite entertaining. The third film which brings more characters to a different planet, was still a pretty good time, despite issues with casting and some of the CGI effects. The fourth film, The Predator is everything that is wrong with this franchise, and it was directed by Shane Black, who starred in the original film. I would’ve expected him to kind of adhere to the relative seriousness of the first movie, even though it had its comedic moments. Instead, the movie we got last year was a laugh-a-minute CGI-fest whose jokes rarely landed. From what I understand, there was a lot of interference from the studio to the point where the final act of the film had to be re-written and re-shot, so the movie that were somewhat promised wasn’t the one we got. I didn’t hate the film completely, but it was definitely the worst of the bunch. Now that Fox is owned by Disney, MAYBE we’ll get a decent movie, but I’m willing to wait until they get somebody that will actually respect the franchise.
Tremors
Tremors is absolutely one of my favorite monster movies of all time. Not only was it scary at times, it was also hilarious. The blending of horror and comedy was so perfect that the film became an instant cult classic. It was very reminiscent of the creature features of the 1950s. Nobody expected a sequel, because they thought it was going to be a one-and-done kind of film. Now, 29 years later, we got an announcement that for a SEVENTH film, Tremors: Island Fury. I’m not going to lie, I really enjoyed the sequels(all of which were direct-to-video, by the way), and there is definitely an audience for more films. That being said, how many more different ways can Burt Gummer blast the bejeezus out of them Graboids? Michael Gross is fantastic in ALL of those movies, by the way, and he’s really the reason why I keep watching them, but I just want them to stop for a while. I’m also still pissed off that the latest Tremors series starring Kevin Bacon was cancelled before the first episode even aired. Fuck you, SyFy.
Saw
The original Saw is one of the most unique thrillers that I’ve ever seen. This low-budget flick took place mostly inside one room with two people chained at opposite sides of the room. The tension comes from not knowing why they are there and how they can escape. It is a smartly written and well-directed little chiller that didn’t rely on the over-the-top gore that the series would ultimately be known for. It was still violent, but the extreme gore was mostly off-screen. Unfortunately, the yearly series would progressively get more violent and gory as each film was released. Not only that, each subsequent film after the third would try to connect to the original film in some pretty outlandish and unbelievable ways. These movies just got really freaking ridiculous. From what I understand, comedian Chris Rock is going to be writing and producing a new Saw film that’s apparently going to reboot the series. Why? I’m a huge fan of the horror genre, but I honestly wish that these film-makers would take a risk on a new idea instead of trying to re-hash something that came before. After Saw VII came and went, I was kind of glad they left the series behind, at least until Jigsaw came out a couple of years ago.
I didn’t create this list to hate on these movies, far from it. I actually really like a lot of these movies, but I’m looking at how the quality of writing for some of these films are getting worse and worse with each title. Will film-makers stop making sequels because I asked them to? Not a chance in hell, but that’s not going to stop me from pointing out the fact that people are not necessarily getting excited about sequels anymore. I know I’m getting a little sick of them. But what do you folks think? Do you agree that some of these franchises need to hit the brakes for a little while, or are you okay with them cranking out more and more titles? Let me know in the comments.