10 Movie Sequels That Were Basically The Same Movie
6. Escape from L.A.
John Carpenter's Escape from New York touts one hell of a unique, crackerjack premise, as prisoner Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is presented with a deal - if he can enter Manhattan, which is now a penal colony, and rescue the President of the United States in 24 hours, he'll be pardoned of his crimes.
If he can't do it in time, micro-explosives injected into his body will kill him.
Snake of course accomplishes his mission by the film's end and returns for Escape from L.A., which beyond shifting the setting across the coast is basically the same film all over again.
Snake is again incarcerated and offered a deal - this time to enter a Los Angeles penal colony and track down the remote control to a superweapon known as the Sword of Damocles, which was stolen by the President's rebellious daughter. If Snake can retrieve the remote, he'll be pardoned and receive a cure for the deadly virus he's been injected with.
Escape from L.A. is basically a wackier, goofier carbon copy of Carpenter's original, and while it certainly has its defenders, most all will agree it's nowhere near as good - in large part because it so listlessly recycles what came before.