These days, film-goers loves to collectively rally against the idea of "the sequel movie" whenever possible: deriding Hollywood and calling the big studios out for their lack of creativity has cemented itself as one of the great modern pastimes; it's something close to cathartic to rag on the state of today's cinema - and especially on sequels. And yet, despite our initial hatred for pretty much every sequel that works its way into development, when another one comes along, pre-packaged for our enjoyment and primed to make millions, everyone swarms into theatres like a bunch of lunatics (hypocrite warning, anyone?). You just can't resist. It's the "necessity" of a sequel that usually prompts the most debate amongst folk, though, because few follow-ups ever reveal themselves to be warranted. It's not always bad - both Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens weren't exactly necessary, but they still turned out to be worthwhile - but many sequels have "why bother?" written all over them from the off; they're inherently unnecessary to the very core. Here's the ten most pointless ones coming up in 2016 that really should try and resist the nostalgic allure of...
10. Ride Along 2
Release Date: January 15, 2016 Ride Along was a relentlessly grating and largely unfunny "comedy" flick starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart (both of whom can do far better) about a high school security guard who must prove to an undercover cop that he deserves to marry his sister. Nothing about it, save for its impressive box office success (it made a whopping $154 million on a budget of just $25 million), presents it as a film deserving of a sequel. But, of course, this is Hollywood, and it doesn't matter whether a movie deserves a sequel; it only matters whether or not people will go to see it. And in the case of the wholly unnecessary Ride Along 2, they might just do that. The plot this time has Ice Cube and Hart headin' to Miami for "another case," because that's how arbitrary sequels do it. Going by the trailer, you can expect more broad jokes, boredom and naff action scenes. If this claws back the right amount of cash, expect Ride Along 3 in about a year's time. This is the world we live in, people: this is the legacy that we leave behind.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
