When we go to see movie sequels, all that most of us hope is that they will at least do justice to the original pictures that we enjoyed so much. The producers also have their fingers crossed, of course, because movie franchises now have the potential to gross billions of dollars if done right. While many movie fans complain about the rampant sequelizing in today's movie industry, it's undeniable that sequels make sense from a financial perspective: of 2013's top ten highest-grossing movies worldwide, eight of them were part of a franchise. Whilst sometimes we get lucky and sequels eclipse the originals, as with The Dark Knight and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, audiences are often happy if sequels are just decent follow-ups that don't hurt our enjoyment of the franchise. But every once in a while there is a sequel that is worse than just a bad movie, and it all stems from the fact that it completely misses the point of the original, whether consciously or just through abject ignorance. These sequels seem like the people who made them didn't even understand who or what made the previous movies so successful in the first place, and in the process delivered - what felt like - a kick to the groin for fans...
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
