# Movie sequels so bad they make you enjoy the first movie less **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2006, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819 "2006-04-30T06:46:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/1 "2006-04-30T06:46:16Z")
I would nominate Ocean’s 12. The cool thing about Ocean’s 11 (Brad Pitt , George Clooney et al) was they got the better of the ‘bastard’-Terry Benedict. Then in 12 , Terry Benedict tracks them down. I do not want to hear that. It ruins the first movie. They got away! ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/2 "2006-04-30T07:15:24Z")
The Star Wars prequels. So awful that they made me change my entire opinion on the original trilogy, and start getting rid of all my old toys. They ruined the mythology by diluting it, as far as I’m concerned. The Matrix sequels were horrendous too, but at least I pretend the original exists in a vacuum. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/3 "2006-04-30T07:37:26Z")
Alien 3 and Terminator 3; both basically screwed over the previous move. In Alien 3, the little girl and Hicks died anyway, and Ripley dies at the end. In T3, it turns out there _is_ such a thing as fate, the struggle in the last movie accomplished nothing, and we’re all screwed. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/4 "2006-04-30T07:56:58Z")
> [@Der Trihs](#): > > Alien 3 and Terminator 3; both basically screwed over the previous move. In Alien 3, the little girl and Hicks died anyway, and Ripley dies at the end. In T3, it turns out there _is_ such a thing as fate, the struggle in the last movie accomplished nothing, and we’re all screwed. Ironically, I felt T3 put right what T2 screwed up. After all, If the world doesn’t get blown up, John can’t send reese back to father John. And besides…all the huggy-daddy terminator stuff annoyed me in T2. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/5 "2006-04-30T08:39:01Z")
The 3rd Matrix movie. The first one was a fun popcorn flick. The second made me think maybe they really had something going on with their symbolic mumbo jumbo. The third one revealed that no, in fact, they were just picking random religious sounding stuff out of the air and in fact had nothing to say at all. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/6 "2006-04-30T10:09:37Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > The 3rd Matrix movie. > > The first one was a fun popcorn flick. The second made me think maybe they really had something going on with their symbolic mumbo jumbo. The third one revealed that no, in fact, they were just picking random religious sounding stuff out of the air and in fact had nothing to say at all. Seconded! _The Matrix_ was, at the time, the Coolest Movie I Had Ever Seen- I was totally blown away by it, and when I heard about the sequels, I was a bit skeptical, but thought “Sure, why not?” The second one was OK. There was some potential there, and the Twins were very cool, and things were looking very promising for the third one. I went out and got some of the Collectible Figurines (Admittedly they weren’t expensive), as well as some Movie Posters- not purely for investment, but I’ll admit that thought wasn’t far from my mind- and then the third movie came out. My collectible figurines and movie posters are now gathering dust in the back of a cupboard. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/7 "2006-04-30T11:25:14Z")
Don’t talk to me about Highlander 2. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/8 "2006-04-30T11:48:45Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > I would nominate Ocean’s 12. > The cool thing about Ocean’s 11 (Brad Pitt , George Clooney et al) was they got the better of the ‘bastard’-Terry Benedict. > > Then in 12 , Terry Benedict tracks them down. I do not want to hear that. It ruins the first movie. They got away! I stopped in to express that very sentiment. Ocean’s 12 was the one I thought of immediately and for the same reasons. As far as Highlander - well, there wasn’t a single movie that didn’t contradict the previous ones. They should have stopped at the first. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/9 "2006-04-30T16:48:46Z")
> [@blinkingblinking](#): > > I would nominate Ocean’s 12. > The cool thing about Ocean’s 11 (Brad Pitt , George Clooney et al) was they got the better of the ‘bastard’-Terry Benedict. > > Then in 12 , Terry Benedict tracks them down. I do not want to hear that. It ruins the first movie. They got away! So how does [Ocean’s 13](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0496806/) affect your opinion of Ocean’s 11? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/10 "2006-04-30T16:59:55Z")
Matrix Revolutions made me think less of Reloaded because it revealed they had no idea what they were doing. It didn’t really ruin the original since that one was made separately. I said it once and I’ll say it again. “We don’t fucking care about Zion. We don’t know anyone there and don’t care about anyone there. If it isn’t in the Matrix itself…I don’t care!” ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/11 "2006-04-30T18:35:25Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > Don’t talk to me about Highlander 2. How could we speak of such a thing? No such movie was ever made. I’ve heard rumors that George Lucas is planning to make prequels to the three Star Wars movies. I hope he doesn’t. He’d probably add something stupid like a talking kangaroo with a dumb name like Jug-Jug or other container. There’s no whay it would be near as cool as Ice-T in Tank Girl. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/12 "2006-04-30T19:00:40Z")
The crappiness of _Men in Black 2_ has the effect of revealing how the first one isn’t really all that good either. When you see how the sequel is coasting on little more than visual effects and snarky attitude, the first one suddenly starts to feel nearly as thin and pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/13 "2006-04-30T19:13:04Z")
When I was a kid I loved _Smokey and the Bandit_ (the “when I was a kid” part is very important). Its sequel was my first exposure with a “My God what have they done” moment of a studio squeezing the tube til it was empty and then adding in baking soda and shoe polish for a sequel. Thirded or whatevered to Star Wars (which for me began with _Return of the Jedi_ which I thought was untrue to the first two in the way it overcommercialized and overgrossed out and over "cute"d its way through the completion. _Godfather 3_ didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the first two _Godfather_ movies so much as it detracted from my enjoyment of Coppola. It was so clearly a “let’s make a lot of money for my vineyard” project and yet it could have been so good. It was the end (for me) of the Coppola=Mark-of-Quality association. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/14 "2006-04-30T19:14:07Z")
I also did not enjoy the prequels for _Star Wars_ . It also really bothers me that my child will not be able to enjoy these movies on the same level, not shock about Darth Vader, none of that. It really just sucks. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/15 "2006-04-30T19:30:43Z")
I nominate the original _Planet of the Apes_, which was a brilliant movie, but the following numerous sequels went downhill very very steeply. The subway mutant A-Bomb worshippers really took the cake. Now I try to pretend that the sequels weren’t made. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/16 "2006-04-30T19:47:24Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > I nominate the original _Planet of the Apes_, which was a brilliant movie, but the following numerous sequels went downhill very very steeply. The subway mutant A-Bomb worshippers really took the cake. Now I try to pretend that the sequels weren’t made. However, \*Conquest of the Planet of the Apes \* (1972) managed to be disturbing and really entertaining. Disturbing in the sense that it makes you root for the ape revolt. When it was shown in the late 70’s in El Salvador, I was amazed that the repressive government allowed a film of a revolution to be shown in a place that was ready to start one. I bet the **gorillas** in government missed the allegory, but I think the **guerrillas** did like it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/17 "2006-04-30T19:57:00Z")
I’ve seen the Matrix, Men in Black and Ocean’s 11 sequels and Star Wars prequels, and agree completely with all of those nominations. I’ll add the Austin Powers sequels. In the first three minutes of the second movie, they kill of Elizabeth Hurley’s character and undo all of the maturing Austin did in the first movie. There were some very funny things in the second movie, but they were offset by an unending stream of shit, dick and fat jokes. And then the third one had three good jokes spread out across 90 minutes. It lessened my enjoyment of the first movie and also my respect for Mike Myers, who suddenly seemed like the world’s biggest one-trick pony. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/18 "2006-04-30T19:57:23Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > How could we speak of such a thing? No such movie was ever made. Damn good thing, too. There can be only one (Highlander movie)! ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/19 "2006-04-30T20:45:32Z")
I have to add my agreement with regard to the Star Wars prequels. The fact that I’ve seen them and so they exist in my memory lowers my ability to just enjoy the first one. _Star Wars_ was **fun** ; the prequels are just dreary and morbid. That I know the disgusting origin of Darth Vader has just sucked a lot of the enjoyment and fun out of the original. On the other hand, while I agree that the sequels to _Planet of the Apes_ are bad, they don’t in any way prevent me from enjoying and marvelling at the original. The storyline(s) in the sequels are just so far removed from the first one that there doesn’t feel like there’s all that much connection, so it’s easy to just forget about them when watching the original. (And, fortunately, I made a point of not seeing the remake, so I don’t have that polluting my memories). ---
**Author:** ![SilentStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SilentStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SilentStorm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819/20 "2006-04-30T20:57:44Z")
Ooooh. Hated the Star Wars prequels; so much so that I didn’t even bother to see the third one. Starship Troopers is also a favorite of mine, and the sequel was completely terrible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-so-bad-they-make-you-enjoy-the-first-movie-less/354819.md?page=2)