No one has to explain why there are sequels and I'm not here to say that sequels should or shouldn't be made. But if someone is trying to make a sequel, here are the best things to do and things to think about before you make one. First off, you should always always ask why. Why does there need to be a sequel and what does it offer? Do we need to see more robots blow up buildings or does the fifth installment tell a tale about an aspect the viewers have never seen. Does Optimus Prime fall in love with a human in Transformers 5? I would watch that. A film isn't interesting if you just slab the same plot with the same characters in it, no matter how interesting the characters. The key is to make a film feel new but by using character you love and a world you know.
So it's hard not to look at superhero films on this topic but it's the easiest to compare to sequels because as you know there's a lot of them. So let's look at a great example, earlier this year Marvel Studios released Captain America: Winter Solider the sequel to 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. The film released to rave reviews and shows how to make a sequel. The film takes these characters people love from the first film but breaks deeper into their lives. Anthony and Joe Russo created a film in a completely different genre but with the same characters. Now a spy thriller the film feels fresh and explores themes that are exciting but continue the story from the original. All of this plus beautiful cinematography, it's well written and it's well acted. Basically, if you have two more hours of the same characters lets learn something new and explore new ideas in this world.
Someone should never make a sequel because of money, but sorry folks that's just the way the world works. Obvious sequels are created to make more money but I believe Marvel is trying to prove that sequels aren't always a bad thing. And this could be for the good or the bad. I believe every film could have a sequel in some way or another but the question is not whether you can, but if you should. (Well that reminds me of the moral of Jurassic Park. *crossing my fingers for Jurassic World*
Did you watch it? Well if you didn't, then do it. Seriously. Now.
This trailer has revived my faith in reboots. At the start of the trailer, we see Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) discussing their weekends. The short conversation brings back much of the light humor from the first film as well as a reminder that Capt. isn't in his domain anymore--keep in mind he was frozen in ice for many decades.
As he jumps out of the plane, it's hard not to smile. "Was he wearing a parachute?" "No. No he wasn't." From those two lines, viewers are reminded of Captain America's greatest superpower: courage. It's cheesy, I know, but that's why Steve Rogers was chosen to be the world's first superhero, anyway. Wasn't it? Besides his super strength, quick reflexes, and devilishly good looks, the greatest thing about this hero is what's inside. It's why we all grew to love him in the first film.
"I joined SHIELD to protect people." This line worked as another great reminder of why we love this hero. The only reason Captain America does what he does is to protect those who cannot protect themselves. He swore that he would use his powers for the greater good of the world. Without his promise, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to be the hero he became.
"Captain, to build a better world sometimes means turning the old one down. And that makes enemies." Oh no! Conflict! What could it be?? We don't know, and that's the point. A good trailer doesn't need to flat-out tell you what the main conflict in the story is. Can they? Sure. But I'm personally a fan of showing rather than telling, which is what the trailer goes on to do.
We are then shown a shot of this man...
Say hello to The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the newest addition to Marvel's movie heroes. The Falcon, also known as Sam Wilson, has the powers to telepathically communicate with birds and can see what birds see. Who knows if Marvel will stay true to these powers, considering they seem to like to stay away from supernatural powers in their films, but this hero is also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and, yes, even gymnastics. I'm not quite sure how our new character will be incorporated into the storyline of this film, but at least Marvel can throw him into the Avengers in the upcoming sequel.
"Look out the window. You know how the game works. Disorder. War." It's easy to tell that this Captain America sequel will be much, much darker than the first. After just listening to this one line, as well as watching cars blow up, I suddenly knew that this film will probably not be nearly as light-hearted or comical as the first. Marvel seems to be going down this road with all their sequels. Iron Man 2 was clearly much darker than the first, but then much of the humor we loved from the first film was brought back for the third installment. The upcoming Thor sequel looks much darker in content has well.
"We want to neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime...This isn't freedom. This is fear." I guess Marvel decided to take a more real-world approach in this film! Often with government agencies--the FBI, the CIA--people question the morals of the things they do and the way those things are carried out. Captain America takes the stance of much of the general public when Nick Fury tells him that SHIELD is taking a new approach to fighting possible threats. He accuses Fury of what many people accuse the U.S. government of doing--acting without just cause.
Next, we see Captain America kick and punch a group of guys in an elevator. Many explosions follow.
In the ending shot of the trailer, we finally get a better look at the villain of the film. They call him the Winter Soldier, but his real name is...wait for it...almost there...getting closer...Bucky Barnes!! Yup! It's Captain's best, dead friend from the first film. How is he alive? No clue. I'm sure I could ask Google and I'd find out in a matter of thirty seconds but I'd much rather find out when I see the film in theaters--probably on opening night.
Along with the excellent dialogue selections they chose from the film, the makers of the trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier used some very visually appealing shots to even further enhance the effectiveness of the trailer. I'm not usually one to enjoy sequels, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jumping up and down in my seat after watching this trailer.
Sometimes – only sometimes – under a blue moon will a sequel be on par with it's predecessor. Taken 2 is a clear cut case of this rule. Taken 1 told a story that audiences hadn't seen in a while. A daughter is adducted on a trip to Europe and Liam Neeson, the overprotective dad, goes hunting for her kidnappers. It's one of those movies where bad guys just keep dying.... and dying.
Taken 2 lives up to that same level of death. Liam Neeson kills everyone. It gets tiring.
We get it, a hollywood producer sitting in an L.A. office somewhere decided that turing a half way decent film into a franchise would earn him that big bonus. We know that producers sometimes force a sequel that shouldn't be made in the first place. Taken 2 is that atypical sequel we all know and despise.
We know that sequels (and prequels) are notoriously bad. It's a given fact that as film students, we can be an excellent judge of a film's story and quality. We can spot when the 'Hollywood Industrial Complex' tries to pull a fast one on us. We're better than sequels like this.
We're better than Taken 2. Taken 2 is a weak attempt at an exciting thriller. Stereotypes permeate the plot line. The writer has decided to play up the Middle Eastern/Muslim card this time, turning the characters into something we've all seen before. It's a cheap and quick way to play off the fears of the American audience, while offending the vast majority of the Muslim community.
Plain and simple this movie is just boring. The unimaginative storyline is predictable and boring. Essentially every White character that wasn't kidnapped last movie was kidnapped this time.
Instead of Liam Neeson hunting down the bad guys, he and his wife have been kidnapped and will be executed when they are brought to Afghanistan. The bad guys want revenge for all of the bad guys killed in the first movie. And now, the 17 year-old daughter has to come save her parents.
There are movies today that most people find entertaining upon leaving the theatre. They leave the theatre satisfied with the overall quality of the film itself, and feel they spent their money well on this film. However, when the second, third, fourth etc. movie comes out, they spend more money to go see the sequels and leave the theatre having a different opinion about the film. From my experience, I can agree that most sequels that come out ruin the reputation of the first film. Such films draw attention away from the films and tend to lose more Box Office money. Here below are three of the many worst sequels to movies that I found repulsive to watch.
After watching the first Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl I was very intrigued with the film and it drew me back in to watch the second Pirate movie "Dead Man's Chest. After this second movie, they got worse and worse to the point where I walked out of "Stranger Tides," the fourth one. The Curse of the Black Pearl had a total Gross of $305, 413,918 with Dead Man's Chest topping that at $423,315,812. After the second film the Total Gross decreased to $309 million to $241 Million.
I saw Jaws when I was little and it scared the living s%^t out of me. I feared water for months and months. However, when i saw the sequels to Jaws, I was more afraid of NOT going into the water. These sequels in my opinion grabbed no interest in me. While the original Jaws had a Total Gross of $260 million, the sequels didn't make nearly as much dropping to $77Million to $45 million to $20million.
When I saw the Matrix I was entertained and I felt I spent my money's worth on this movie. However, I felt the sequels were absolutely horrible. I had no interest in these movies and it drew me away from further Keanu Reeves' movies. While the first movie made a Total Gross of $171 million, the second movie received more ($281 million) while the third movie slumped down to to $139 million.
I could go on and on but this would take up a large portion of the post. I still love many movies, but sometimes I feel some sequels aren't necessary to a film.
