I currently have a love-hate relationship with sequels, as when they are done well (and after a respectable amount of time after the original with remakes) they can be even more memorable than the previous one (ex. Empire Strikes Back), but when they are just used as an obviously money grab *cough Hobbit cough* then it really bothers me.
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Since I brought up the Hobbit, I figured I'll start my discussion on the things I like and dislike about movie sequels. So I understand that certain books have a lot of content so it may be difficult to consolidate a solid film into one movie. Also if a movie studio received the rights to a series, it can be assumed that sequels will be made. Things I like about sequels would be that I get to go back into the worlds that I loved so much and get to re-experience the characters in different situations (ex. Lord of the Rings, some of Harry Potter). I'm a huge movie buff so I can pretty much find enjoyment/the good side to every movie.
My issue is unnecessary sequels because I feel like they only serve as money grabs that take advantage of the audiences love of the series (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt. 2, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2, Twilight:Breaking Dawn pt. 2 Cars 2/3 (ugh more on this later) etc.). I can understand not wanting to cut things out to keep fans happy and everything but I feel like the only reason in the last few years that their have been splits is because of Harry Potter. Once the final movie was split, all other similar movies did the same and now it's almost expected. I didn't mind the split in that movie because the movie was so long plus my love of Harry Potter but I just hated the way everything was handled. I do hope that with the split with Mockingjay, the end will slow down a bit and give us more time with the characters unlike what the book gave, so that is a positive. There are more good things about sequels like the actors getting more comfortable in their roles and really bringing out amazing performances. When I saw Catching Fire, I absolutely loved it and even thought it was better than the original as it served up a solid book adaptation with a great atmosphere and actors.
I'm sure some of my feelings result from just being so excited to see the movie, but I think that there is stuff (like constant camping in the woods) that can be cut out without anyone caring. I'm not a Twilight fan but I didn't get why that book had to split into two movies since there wasn't much going on after the birth. Back to the Hobbit, it is my favorite book and I absolutely loved Peter Jackson's LOTR, so of course I was excited to see those movies. The first one didn't even bother me as much with all of the changes they made. But the second one I hated because they went too fast through some parts, and too slow through others. Honestly I don't see why they they finished the movie the way they did because it will now have two climaxes, when they could have closed up one part of the story in the second movie to focus on the battle in the final one. That's another thing, the fact that instead of 2 movies, there would be three. The Hobbit is a short book and even with the appendices and adding new things/characters, it still feels stretched. But despite all of my gripes, I'm still going to see the final movie opening day so I guess the studios win. Finally Cars, I never liked that series as it felt like one of the weaker ones of the normally fantastic Pixar and I feel that they are just doing another Cars to sell merchandise despite the second movie getting horrible reviews. I feel like the Incredibles movie has stories left to tell plus an excited fandom, which make for a wanted sequel.
I obviously have a lot to say about certain sequels (ha) but what do you guys think? What are some of your favorite and least favorite movie sequels?
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