Nowadays, sequels are rightfully considered to be the scourge of the Hollywood scene - unnecessary, awkwardly-realised and usually existing solely for the purpose of exploiting the good nature (not to mention the wallets) of a pre-existing fanbase, sequels rarely live up to the original flicks they were inspired by. In most cases, then, movie-goers would agree that a sequel to a great movie is a bad idea - there are just too many things that can go wrong. Generally speaking, it's the extremely popular movies that will find themselves best primed for a sequel. When it comes to mediocre flicks, though, there's nothing any movie-goer wants less than another chapter of half-assed narrative schlock. In some cases, though, a mediocre movie actually warrants a sequel for much more than money making purposes. Be it to expand on a story in ways that the original movie failed, or as a way for filmmakers to right the wrongs of the first entry, here's 10 mediocre movies that actually deserve to get sequels...
10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Oh, God, I know: how can one propose that Hollywood gets into bed with yet another Indiana Jones movie, right? Especially when you consider just how ill-judged this one turned out. But hear me out, because I think
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - as disappointing as it was - emerged as a great cautionary tale for those who made it. In the aftermath, at least, Steven Spielberg - who has directed all four entries - admitted that he had cold feet working with an alien-based storyline. Since then, George Lucas sold LucasFilm to Disney. Which means that, yes, we're probably going to see something of the Indiana Jones variety at some point in the not too distant future. I think that we'd all agree, should it have to happen, Harrison Ford should absolutely be the one to reprise his role as the world's most famous archeologist. And given the lessons that Spielberg had flung at him by legions of fans when this was released, I'm positive he'd invest his time in ensuring that a fifth movie would do right by the franchise. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece (nor would it likely emerge as one), but it would - at least - have its predecessor in place as a kind "don't do anything you did in this movie" warning sign. That's to say, it can't get much worse than
Crystal Skull, and I'd love to see Spielberg have another go at restoring Indy's legacy. What have we got to lose?