Tell Us Now: 18 Sequels That Ruined The Original Movie

Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone...
Tell Us Now: 18 Sequels That Ruined The Original Movie

Sequels and remakes are a tricky thing. While they can seem to promise easy cash for studios or an honest chance to flesh out a rich world or story arc, the fact is sequels are inherently risky. 

If done poorly they can not only bomb themselves, but tarnish viewers opinion of the original movie. Never the less, many studios choose to gamble regardless.

We obviously couldn't write an article like this without mentioning the Matrix and it's sequels. Jiminy Christmas, talk about a let down. Don't even get us started about the absolute torture of the endless Saw sequels. Did you even know Highlander II: the Quickening was a thing? No? Probably keep it that way.

We asked Cracked readers on Facebook, “Which sequel ruined the original movie?” Many of you are of the opinion that a sequel can't destroy the integrity of its predecessor, but we beg to differ, such as with these 18 examples…

TELL US NOW. THE MATRIX RELOADED AND REVOLUTIONS Casey P. tells US, The second one could have been salvaged and been okay if the third one had stuck the landing. Even with the context of the high expectations the original one set, the sequels failed hard. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. SUPER TROOPERS 2 Aubert P. says, The first one was the bomb; I grew up watching this. The second one is ill-researched, filled with French Canadian stereotypes. Guys, we are just on the other side of the border, you could at least try to make this relatable. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Andrew T. says, Say what you will about The Last Jedi, but Rise of Skywalker spent half its runtime backpedaling what it felt like it needed to rectify in Last Jedi to fulfill its own agenda. This not only hurt itself, but negated anything that was significant in The Last Jedi as well as making The Force Awakens feel like the kid whose parents are arguing over it. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. TRANSFORMERS SEQUELS Scott C. says, Although by no means a masterpiece to begin with, every Transformers sequel Michael Bay directed completely diminished the impact the first movie had on me as a long time fan... No coherency at all between films just takes the enjoyment out of watching the original. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. SAW SEQUELS Cody M. tells US, The first Saw was a tense horror movie with an awesome twist ending. Then each of the eight sequels turned the franchise into such a convoluted, plot-hole riddled mess that it was nearly impossible to follow. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. HIGHLANDER II: THE QUICKENING Markus C. says, It undid everything that the first movie laid down. Tim S. adds, That whole reveal just utterly annihilated anything good about the original. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. SHORT CIRCUIT 2 Andrew T. tells US, I really liked Short Circuit. It was funny in so many ways. Short Circuit 2 had too much silly comedy and sexual innuendo. The first movie was well-written with many unanticipated occurrences. The second movie seemed thrown together without much thought given to continuity or plot. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE Thomas H. says, It removed all of the people and things that made the first movie great (or at least a fun ride). Then it had the nerve to leave the door open for another movie, like we wanted more of that. The fact that two minor characters had the most heartfelt moments in the movie say it all. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. MANNEQUIN TWO: ON THE MOVE Mario M. says, The first one is an almost perfectly paced romantic comedy with charismatic leads. The second one is a rehash of the original with lesser actors. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. CROCODILE DUNDEE II Mario M. says, The first one was a nice little fish out of water comedy. The second one is just 'generic 80s sequel.' CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. THE HANGOVER PART II AND III Travis c. says, Kept it to one movie, it would still hold pretty strong. The sequels watered it down immensely. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN SEQUELS Stephen B. says, First one was a hearted adventure. Then they went off the rails with re-writing characters for pointless drama and convoluted stories. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES Aubert P. says, Anchorman 2 was sh!t, to ruin a cult classic after all these years was painful to watch. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH Kyle M. bemoans, The Hulk Hogan fourth-wall-breaking bit was too much. That took me so far out of the movie, I was angry watching the rest. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. DEADPOOL 2 Alex H. tells US, Jokes about your own lazy writing are only cheeky and subversive up to a point. Then they just become themselves lazy writing. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. BLUES BROTHERS 2000 Matt S. shares, Were it not for the amazing soundtrack, that movie would be the ultimate insult to a classic comedy masterpiece. still, the sequel fails in every other way. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. BLADE RUNNER 2049 Jesse R. says, Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie, but it undermined the ambiguous ending of the original by definitively telling US that Deckard was human, contradicting the evidence in the original pointing to Deckard being a replicant. CRACKED.COM
TELL US NOW. THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY Brian S. tells US, It was so terrible about rehashing (badly) the bits from the first movie, that when I watch it, I'm constantly reminded of the sequel. CRACKED.COM
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