10 Most Disappointing Sci-Fi Movie Sequels Ever
7. RoboCop 3
RoboCop's debut offering in 1987 was considered something of a phenomenon. A highly-compelling story centering on how Detroit police officer Alex Murphy's near-death experience turns him into an unstoppable cyborg of the law known only as Robocop, the film's mature writing and impressive special effects were praised by critics, which saw it become a cult classic very quickly.
Unfortunately, the downside of success is that it forces the-powers-that-be to dilute something perfect by writing sequels that were completely unnecessary. RoboCop 2 is where the cracks started to show, but it survives because it at least attempts to have some interesting ideas (even though none of them were executed right), but to say the franchise bottomed out with the third installment would be a massive understatement.
Like other superhero-like franchise's of the '70 - '90s, the sequels forsook the protagonist's journey for a standalone villain-centric plot that had little to offer in terms of story depth while everything else just looked depressingly cheap because of the significantly reduced budget. Oh yeah, and RoboCop himself, Peter Weller, wasn't even in it.
Yes, RoboCop had become a shiny polished shell of what he once was as the franchise ended in complete and utter disappointment.