In case you didn't know, sequels are big business in Hollywood, and it's not hard to see why. When an original property does well, it's a hell of a thing starting a movie from scratch always comes with inherent risks, precisely because everything's unproven. If you were told the premise for Avatar off-hand, you might laugh James Cameron out the room for something so zany. On the other side of the fence, you could be excited about it, but find that the finished product wasn't what you expected. An original property always has to find the balance between concept and execution, and this can be a tricky thing to pull off. Yet with sequels, you don't have to worry about this to the same degree. Oh sure, there's still an element of risk and a need for a coherent plot, but the groundwork's been put in with the occasional exception, most sequel-makers are safe in the knowledge that there is a definite audience for their film, who liked what was put on-screen and how it was done last time around. For some, this provides an opportunity to be more daring and grand in scope, and their subsequent projects can result in both the praise of the critics and the love of the audience. But while a good sequel should always look to expand and further explain the previous movie's world and mythos with an original plot, some movies aren't green-lit with such noble goals in mind. No, they're out to make money and capitalise on a sure thing, plotting be damned. So occasionally, you find yourself in a position where characters might conveniently fall for the same thing as the original, or forget previous lessons despite the fact no functioning human would do such a thing just to advance the plot. Of course, there are the exceptions that do this for a very specific reason, and I'll be mentioning them in this article. Please keep in mind, a
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