Good Sequel, Bad Sequel

Sequels are notorious for being lesser films than the original.  

For example, The Never-ending Story was brilliant.  The Never-Ending Story 2 was only okay.  The Never-Ending Story 3?  Well…  Trust me, it didn’t make anyone’s favorite list.

But sometimes- albeit rarely- the sequels are not only decent, but can actually be better than the original.  Take Star Trek:  The Motion Picture and Star Trek:  The Wrath of Khan.  The Motion Picture was okay, but it’s sequel was much better.

So What Gives?

Why are some sequels amazing, but others are really…  less-than?  Well, in my opinion, bad sequels tend to be “Film 2,” as where good sequels tend to be “Film: Part 2.”

Let me explain.  In the first example, a movie- let’s call it Wallow- was a blockbuster hit.  It sold out it’s tickets in a month, the critics and the people loved it, and the DVD sales made a fortune.  Then the producers said to each other, “This stuff is gold!  Let’s make another.”  So they spend a few years making a new movie, Wallow 2, and when it it finally comes out, fans of the first movie buy up the theater tickets.  

Then everyone thew away their DVDs of the first movies and went on strike.  Why?  Because the sequel was awful.  The plot was contrived, there were a few(hundred) too many explosions, and they killed off a beloved character for shock value.

Take Two!

In the second example, the movie in question- Tales of the Golden Squirrel- was also a smash hit.  Sales were through the roof, and Golden Squirrel action figures(With chainsaw action!) were in every household.  And then the writer went back to the producers with a new script.  He felt that the story wasn’t complete, and he wanted to finish it.  The producers jumped at the chance to double their profits, and in a few year’s time, The Squirrel Strikes Back was released into the world.

And the people raved.  The second film was brilliant, perhaps even better than the first.  It answered so many questions the fans had, and raised several more.  The characters stayed true, and the film even sparked several fan theories.  Not to mention the amazing sales of the Senior Golden Squirrel(With lightning chainsaw action!).

Knowledge of Good & Evil

So what was the difference between the two?  What made one sequel amazing, and the other plum awful?  Well, in my humble opinion, I think the success of a film depends on weather or not the story wants to be told.

In other words, Wallow 2 didn’t want to be told.  It was written because the producers wanted another hit, not because the writer felt the story needed more.  On the other hand, The Squirrel Strikes Back was written because the story wanted to be finished, not for external purposes.  Of course, the writer and produces still wanted money-  That’s the case in every film ever, and it’s not a problem- but that wasn’t why it was written.  There’s no magic button you can hit when you want a new script, it needs to be inspired.

Aaaaand CUT!

So that’s about the long and short of it.  Of course, it’s only my opinion, and I’d be interested to know what you guys think makes a sequel good or bad.  If you want to share, please comment, and as always, keep on geekin’ on!