Sequels and Re-makes that Missed the Point

Chainsawmidget · March 15, 2013, 09:09:25 PM

There are some movies that are just defined by certain facts or a certain theme... then they have sequels that just totally don't get it at all. This is the read for stuff like that.

Movies like ...

Highlander where the whole point was "In the end, there can be only one."
Then it has sequels where they go "...except for these other guys we forgot about and if we send in new ones. Ones from space."

Then there's Halloween. In that movie, Micheal is scary because you don't know anything abut him. He's just a killing machine, pure and total evil. Then it has a remake that goes into depth on Mikey's past, establishing that he's evil because he had a bad childhood and comes from a white trash family. Awwww.... feel sorry for the guy.

So, what else can you think of where the next movie in the series just didn't get the point of the original?

indianasmith · March 15, 2013, 09:17:26 PM

On HIGHLANDER, I am with you.
I actually thought that the HALLOWEEN remake was brilliant. The little kid Michael Myers was one of the most creepy characters I have ever seen. The movie was very raw, but powerful. However, Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN 2 was a steaming hunk of cinematic excrescence.

THE RING 2 was another sequel that utterly pooped on the original movie.

akiratubo · March 16, 2013, 09:29:37 AM

The Grinch. Ron Howard's stinking, runny turd of a movie threw in a backstory to make the Grinch a sympathetic character and the Whos the true villains of the piece. He is really the one who teaches them the true meaning of Christmas.

The ENTIRE POINT of the original story is that the Grinch is a huge, misanthropic a***ole who can't stand other people being any less miserable than he is - for no reason at all. By the end, he comes to learn that happiness is not brought about by things, but by bonds with other people. Having learned this lesson, the Grinch becomes a better person, a friend to all, and finally is happy.

Yeah, Ron Howard's movie had pretty much exactly the opposite moral of Dr. Seuss's brilliant story - and it did even that badly. I have simply refused to watch another Ron Howard movie since then, and I even went so far as to sell all the Ron Howard movies I owned. The Grinch p**sed me off that much.

ulthar · March 16, 2013, 09:43:46 AM

BLAIR WITCH 2 took a crap all over the original.

Part of what made BW work for me is that throughout, one wondered if the BW was real or just a collection of town myths. There were some 'unexplained' odd things that had happened around the town, but what town does not have those?

The found footage angle added to that in a meta way - one had to wonder what effect the editing of the 'found footage' was having on manipulation of the story. What was in the found footage that they did not include? A group of college kids playing an elaborate prank on the campers? One wonders.

BW2 threw all that out the window. It made the witch real in a Hollywood cinematic way ... it's just another horror story about a manipulative, malevolent force. And, it got kinda cartoonish by the end, which REALLY crapped on the original's attempt at being creative.

zombie no.one · March 16, 2013, 10:44:33 AM

EXCORCIST 2 and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2....just...wtf?

The Burgomaster · March 16, 2013, 11:19:22 AM

GREASE 2, STING II, and CADDYSHACK II, and SLAP SHOT 2 all come to mind. All were obviously (and shamelessly) made for the sole purpose of cashing in on the successes of the originals and made little or no effort to maintain character and story continuity or to give audiences quality of any kind.

tracy · March 16, 2013, 11:51:56 AM

Quote from: The Burgomaster on March 16, 2013, 11:19:22 AM
GREASE 2, STING II, and CADDYSHACK II, and SLAP SHOT 2 all come to mind. All were obviously (and shamelessly) made for the sole purpose of cashing in on the successes of the originals and made little or no effort to maintain character and story continuity or to give audiences quality of any kind.

Those three hit the nail on the head....I still can't believe that I paid to see "Grease II".

rebel_1812 · March 16, 2013, 12:44:44 PM

Quote from: The Burgomaster on March 16, 2013, 11:19:22 AM
GREASE 2, STING II, and CADDYSHACK II, and SLAP SHOT 2 all come to mind. All were obviously (and shamelessly) made for the sole purpose of cashing in on the successes of the originals and made little or no effort to maintain character and story continuity or to give audiences quality of any kind.

Isn't that the standard nowadays? Any successful movie will have a squel.

Chainsawmidget · March 16, 2013, 01:09:00 PM

Quote from: rebel_1812 on March 16, 2013, 12:44:44 PM
Quote from: The Burgomaster on March 16, 2013, 11:19:22 AM
GREASE 2, STING II, and CADDYSHACK II, and SLAP SHOT 2 all come to mind. All were obviously (and shamelessly) made for the sole purpose of cashing in on the successes of the originals and made little or no effort to maintain character and story continuity or to give audiences quality of any kind.

Isn't that the standard nowadays? Any successful movie will have a squel.

Yeah, but most sequels at least pretend to put in some effort.

(Also, my spellchecker change one of my horrible misspellings of sequels into "seagulls". And yes, I'm fairly sure seagulls put more effort into things than the people that made some of those movies as well.)

voltron · March 16, 2013, 04:37:54 PM

I've named dropped it before, but the Black Christmas remake, besides being totally unnecessary, can stand on it's own two feet as being one of the most hideous atrocities ever committed to film.

JayJayM12 · March 16, 2013, 08:19:33 PM

Quote from: voltron on March 16, 2013, 04:37:54 PM
I've named dropped it before, but the Black Christmas remake, besides being totally unnecessary, can stand on it's own two feet as being one of the most hideous atrocities ever committed to film.

I actually enjoyed the Black Christmas remake. It certainly misses the point of the original and is in a completely different vein (so, it definitely belongs on this list), but taken on it's own, I thought it was a pretty fun, cheesy slasher flick. Nothing special for sure, but entertaining enough...

For me, I'd throw in Die Hards #3 - 5 (getting progressively worse with each - #3 was still a good movie, but missed a lot of what made Die Hard special in the first place).

FatFreddysCat · March 16, 2013, 08:57:54 PM

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

Nine movies in and all of a sudden someone decided that it would be a GREAT idea to give Jason Voorhees a ton of back story and family history out of nowhere.

To add insult to injury, Jason's spirit "jumps" from body to body throughout the movie, so he isn't even really "Jason" for most of the film.

This movie actually makes Jason X look good.

Chainsawmidget · March 16, 2013, 09:18:52 PM

Quote from: FatFreddysCat on March 16, 2013, 08:57:54 PM
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

Nine movies in and all of a sudden someone decided that it would be a GREAT idea to give Jason Voorhees a ton of back story and family history out of nowhere.

To add insult to injury, Jason's spirit "jumps" from body to body throughout the movie, so he isn't even really "Jason" for most of the film.

This movie actually makes Jason X look good.

Also, Jason is now a dead-ite.

On the plus side, it did have one of the better Jason designs and a great opening.

Doc Daneeka · March 17, 2013, 03:02:27 AM

No mention yet of First Blood compared with all the Rambo sequels?

claws · March 17, 2013, 07:38:13 AM

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II (1987)

We are introduced to a new character named Mary Lou Maloney - a supernatural force with revenge on her mind. This sequel has nothing to do with the first movie, but it's still a fun flick nonetheless.

Most pointless remake is the Psycho (1998) remake.

Sequels and Re-makes that Missed the Point

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