Bad movies with good sequels?

Tools    





Registered User
Can anyone think of any films which were considered bad but managed to have a sequel which was well-received. I can't think of any off the top of my head (other than the Amazing Spiderman 2 (I haven't seen any of these films, but heard a lot of reviewers saying the first film sucked but managed to turn out a good sequel). The Phantom Menace might be another pick - I didn't think the first one was awful, but I think it was the worst of the Star Wars films, and both of the other prequels were superior.

I can think of quite a few others where the sequel was arguably better (Terminator 2, the Godfather Part 2, etc) but in those cases the original was already well-received. Anyone else have ideas? Thanks.



Registered User
I think some people would say The Road Warrior was a great sequel to the crappy Mad Max. I prefer Mad Max though.
That's a pretty awful assessment from them - the first film was the best in terms of pure acting and plot.



Lord High Filmquisitor
I 100% agree about The Road Warrior. I saw it before the original, and was supremely disappointed when I rectified that oversight.

The biggest surprise that I had at the theater this year was just how good Transformers: Age of Extinction was. It was everything that the first film should have been, despite its myriad of flaws.
__________________
Filmquisition: Raking Modern Entertainment Over the Coals Daily
Unrealitymag.com: New Articles Contributed Every Friday
Arcanis' 100 Favorite Films: 2015 Edition



Registered User
I 100% agree about The Road Warrior. I saw it before the original, and was supremely disappointed when I rectified that oversight.

The biggest surprise that I had at the theater this year was just how good Transformers: Age of Extinction was. It was everything that the first film should have been, despite its myriad of flaws.
Oh you liked Transformers 4? Most of the online reviewers are calling that one the worst of the bunch, lol



wanabe movie critique
IMHO, none. They only get worse, not better......



Lord High Filmquisitor
Oh you liked Transformers 4?
I did (and only paying $2 for the ticket helped, admittedly). The plot is no longer trying to get Shia LaBeouf laid. The human characters are both more realistic (emphasis on more) and take a definite back seat to the robots. The Autobots themselves finally have distinguishable personalities and physiologies, making each uniquely distinct for a change. The action scenes, although overly long, were far more enjoyable than anything in the previous films. The bulkier design of the Transformers this time around make them look a lot better (unlike the anorexic robots we've had until now). Galvatron was pretty awesome, as were Dinobots and Longshot. Bay also took the plot in a surprisigly interesting direction that outshines the previous films (admittedly not very hard to do).

I unashamedly give it a solid 7.5/10.



IMHO, none. They only get worse, not better......
This! None of the sequels are better than the one released before.

Terminator i guess qualifies for me. From the two, i liked T2 better. Although the difference might be marginal.

Batman series, ummm... maybe, but i guess, its one complete block, you cant part 2 without part 1. So its hard to tell on that one.
__________________
My Favorite Films



Personally I thought Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome were better than the original Mad Max.

I like the last Little Women better than the previous versions, though all had their strong points.

The best example would be The Maltese Falcon (1931) a decent precode film....then remade as a light comedy called Satan Met a Lady (1936) and the most respected version The Maltese Falcon (1941)



Personally I thought Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome were better than the original Mad Max.

I like the last Little Women better than the previous versions, though all had their strong points.

The best example would be The Maltese Falcon (1931) a decent precode film....then remade as a light comedy called Satan Met a Lady (1936) and the most respected version The Maltese Falcon (1941)
I am pretty certain, the OP means sequels rather than remakes. There were many remakes which are better than the first. Sequels i doubt it.



Dont kill me for saying this... After reading the book (Godfather), the movie seems quite pale!



Personally I thought Road Warrior and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome were better than the original Mad Max.

I like the last Little Women better than the previous versions, though all had their strong points.

The best example would be The Maltese Falcon (1931) a decent precode film....then remade as a light comedy called Satan Met a Lady (1936) and the most respected version The Maltese Falcon (1941)
I like the last Little Women better than the previous versions, though all had their strong points.

This thread is about sequels, not remakes.



Master of My Domain
Dont kill me for saying this... After reading the book (Godfather), the movie seems quite pale!
Same thing happened to most movies for me, so I try to read the book before the movie. That helped the watching experience and make me a better reader.



Registered User
Dont kill me for saying this... After reading the book (Godfather), the movie seems quite pale!
The movie did leave lots of interesting bits out (despite still being 3 hours long).



The movie did leave lots of interesting bits out (despite still being 3 hours long).
True that!

I have soooo lost touch with books! Would love to get the habit back. But job and life just doesn't leave time for it!



I am also one of those thinking the first Mad Max was pretty bad. I really wasn't feeling it. But the sequel on the other hand, is superior and clearly and thankfully the director used the bigger budget to sort of recreate his vision for the Mad Max world, instead of wasting it on cheap big and flashy stuff like most do. The story and characters were still important.

Other movies would be examples like...
- The Devil's Rejects - Much superior to its original (still I'm not a so-called fan of it).
- Desperado - Great and fun sequel. The first movie, El Mariachi, was way too low budget to be truly good, though I respect it.

You could argue wether or not these are true sequels though, especially Desperado, but I see them as sequels.



Can anyone think of any films which were considered bad but managed to have a sequel which was well-received. I can't think of any off the top of my head (other than the Amazing Spiderman 2 (I haven't seen any of these films, but heard a lot of reviewers saying the first film sucked but managed to turn out a good sequel). The Phantom Menace might be another pick - I didn't think the first one was awful, but I think it was the worst of the Star Wars films, and both of the other prequels were superior.

I can think of quite a few others where the sequel was arguably better (Terminator 2, the Godfather Part 2, etc) but in those cases the original was already well-received. Anyone else have ideas? Thanks.
Yeah, I keep think about the subject of this thread and am really having trouble coming up with something and I think it's because it is very rare that a sequel is made to a bad movie...usually bad movies are left to die on their own badness and the idea of making a sequel is rarely greenlighted. I have seen half decent movies merit sequels that weren't anywhere near as good, like Teen Wolf, but I'm really drawing a blank on a bad movie producing a good sequel.



“Hell will hold no surprises for you.”
Really only sequels that were better than the first.

Terminator 2 > Terminator
Good, Bad and the Ugly was the third and best of the Dollars trilogy
Captain America: Winter Soldier > Captain America
X2 > X-Men
Days of Future Past > First Class
Desperado > El Mariachi
Return of the King was my favorite LOTR film
Evil Dead II was even better than the original.
The Dark Knight > Batman Begins