When I was a kid, Hollywood was releasing a plethora of original movies that I greatly enjoyed. Movies such as "Toy Story," "Shrek," "Mission Impossible," and many others served as great time fillers for me growing up. Then, the sequels came out that were arguably as good, if not better than their originals. The movies industry was in full swing at this time, and I was excited to see that a sequel was coming out for any movie. They were the most anticipated movies of the year, and original movies took the backseat when it came to box office releases. Today, I feel as if the script has flipped.
Now, I feel as if most of the sequels for movies are ruining the reputation of the original. The sequels have become more of a cash grab instead of a way to give the people more of the characters they loved. There's a lack of creativity going on, and even with negative reviews from the public, Hollywood continues to spew out sub-par sequels. A few examples that come to mind are "The Expendables," "Jaws," and "Taken."
To start out, "The Expendables" wasn't anything more than a movie filled with powerhouse actors with guns and explosions. It was a very dry, predictable movie and was average at best. I didn't have a real problem with it until they came out with two more sequels to it. What more could they have done? In my opinion, it wasn't worth seeing the other two, because it was going to be the same movie over and over again. The only reason I could think of for making sequels would be for profit because it was popular due to the cast list.
"Jaws" is one of my favorite classics and was the first movie to make me afraid of water (like most people). The movie was beautiful for its time, and the movie was pretty realistic for being made in a time where CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) wasn't a thing yet. It's an awesome movie that is fairly realistic, but once all of the sequels came out for it, the original "Jaws" took a hit to its reputation. Now it's hard to talk about the movie without thinking of the sequels in the back of my head.
As much as Liam Neeson is a static character, and by that I mean almost all of his roles revolve around the same personality traits, I did enjoy "Taken." The story mixed with the action made it fun to watch, and even though I could predict how the movie was going to end, I loved every second of it. But when "Taken" got two sequels, I was baffled. I saw "Taken Two," and it was almost a carbon copy of the first one. Come on, Hollywood, where is the creativity? That's about all I have to say about that movie.
The movie industry in my eyes is in a little bit of a lull. If they're going to make a sequel, it should be made using two guidelines: the original was successful, and that the sequel aims to one-up its predecessor. If that can't happen, don't bother making it, please. Although I spent most of this article ranting, there have been sequels that I thoroughly enjoyed: "22 Jump Street," "Aliens," "Terminator 2," "The Dark Knight," and "Stars Wars" (Episodes 4-6) all make my list of good sequels.
If you agree with me or not, or if you have sequels that you have strong opinions on, I would love to hear it! Movies are an amazing thing, and I can talk about them all day.
