James Cameron’s The Terminator was great, an ahead-of-its-time sci-fi action flick that gave us Arnold Schwarzenegger at the outset of his career and Linda Hamilton at her frantic best. Seven years later, Terminator 2: Judgment Day once again featured Cameron at the helm, “The Guvernator” in his familiar role and Hamilton as a slightly manic, much more physical and aggressive Sarah Connor, plus Edward Furlong as her son, John Connor, and Robert Patrick as the T-1000. It was awesome.
Everything else about the franchise since then has been bad – really, really bad. Chances are the newest entry into the ongoing saga pitting Man vs. Machine, Terminator Genisys, will continue that run of awful sequels sullying the good name of a once glorious franchise.
But let’s be honest: these last three Terminator films aren’t the worst offenders in the unnecessary sequel realm… These are.
The Godfather, Part III
Why did you pull Michael Corleone back in? He was out and he left on an incredibly high note. The first two Godfather films are among the best ever, rich with brilliant performances and memorable moments that stand the test of time. The third film, however, is memorable only because of how bad it was. It’s a disgrace to the family.
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
The first film became a cult classic because it was over-top and featured all kinds of violence. It wasn’t a good movie by any stretch, but everyone has those bad movies they love and the first in the set was that for a lot of people. But writer/director Troy Duffy couldn’t leave well enough alone and eventually made a sequel. It wasn’t a good movie either, but it also didn’t have any of the cult appeal, earning it a spot on this list.
Batman & Robin
Cycling through actors playing “The Dark Knight” and changing directors regularly hurt this franchise, but this one nearly killed the franchise dead. From “Bat Nipples” and bad dialogue to a plethora of stars battling for camera time and so much colour your eyes want to bleed, Batman & Robin was just awful.
Those Other Two Matrix Movies
Reloaded and Revolutions were facing an uphill battle as soon as they were announced; the first film was such an incomparable success and full of freshness that whatever came next couldn’t possibly live up to expectations. They didn’t; not even close. They were so fractured and forced that it made you wish Neo just rocketed into the air at the end of the first film and never came back.
The Star Wars Prequels
Telling Anakin Skywalker’s story through to his becoming Darth Vader could have been cool. Unfortunately, George Lucas missed the mark and the second trilogy of films in the Star Wars catalogue landed with a critical thud. They made money, but bad movies make money all the time. Hopefully the forthcoming new films in the franchise make us forget the last three entries.
Weekend at Bernie’s 2
“Remember that time we heard her laughing and we thought she was watching Weekend At Bernie’s, but it turned out she was watching Weekend At Bernie’s 2?” When you’re the punchline to a “Lily will laugh at anything” joke on How I Met Your Mother, you know you’re a bad movie.
The Hangover II and III
Once the first movie was an unexpected monster, sequels were automatic. Unfortunately, instead of trying to grow from the first film, they just kept making it over again in slightly different settings with a few new people and a slightly different hook and they got progressively worse. It’s too bad too because the first one was great and now gets lumped in with the drivel that followed.
Jaws 2
You would think that after battling the first shark to the death, Chief Brody would have been all, “So long, Amity; I’m moving inland where there are no sharks.” Instead, he stuck around, another shark showed up and he went back to work. Somehow, they still cranked out two more sequels that continued to get progressively worse after this.
Speed 2
When the star only agreed to do your movie in order to get backing for a passion project they need money for, you should probably consider pulling the plug. Sandra Bullock agreed to reprise her role as Annie in order to make Hope Floats, but Keanu Reeves opted against coming back and was replaced by Jason Patric. Turns out, boats rigged to explode aren’t as cool as busses rigged to explode.
Top Gun II
A sequel 30 years later with “Maverick” shooting down drones in a script written by the dude that penned Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li? Given how awesome the original is, this will undoubtedly be a disaster. Release date… TBD.
