Top 5: Most Disappointing Sequels
As a follow up to the last Top 5 (Best Sequels), this list will consider the flip side: Most Disappointing Sequels. Following the same rules for the definition of a sequel (must be a film directly following an initial installment), Most Disappointing also contains the ingredients of tantalizing anticipation for a re-visit to the world/characters/story, paired with the depressing fizzle after actually viewing the film. If the first film in a series was fantastic and the anticipated sequel filled you with a sense of excitement, but you are left cold and walking away from the theater feeling unsatiated, then this qualifies the experience to join this list of Most Disappointing Sequels.
Gibelwho Productions Top 5 Most Disappointing Sequels:
5. Cars 2
4. Meet the Fockers
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron
2. Star Trek: Into Darkness
1. 28 Weeks Later
Cars 2 (2011): While the first film was a charming tale set amongst a cast of kooky characters and iconic small town Americana with a vehicle twist, the sequel was….a mess. The film relies on fast paced action, an incomprehensible plot, and a rotating cast of various (and forgettable) car characters to assault the viewer with mash of pithy banter and global stereotypes. The major disappointment was the filmmakers abandoned Pixar’s usual storytelling approach: character arcs leading to moments of growth that convey simple universal truths. While Cars is not a masterpiece, it is a enjoyable film that established an aesthetic for a world of automobiles; Cars 2 was an attempt to explore that world more fully, but unfortunately left its soul behind in Radiator Springs.
Meet the Fockers (2014): The initial film in this series, Meet the Parents, is an embarrassment comedy where the main character just can’t catch a break when he tries to impress his girlfriend’s family upon their first meeting. Full of slapstick and broad comedy, it was a great balance between likable characters put in nightmare scenarios for a cringe-worthy reaction. The sequel, in contrast, relies a bit much on humor surrounding the last name, pitting the woman’s military style family with the man’s effeminate, hippy parents. Also, attempting to recapture bathroom humor with a pet does not strike gold a second time around…
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): Marvel knows how to slowly build anticipation toward an epic event, as they did with the solo films for each character that led into the larger Avengers film. That flick isn’t perfect, but Joss infused the story with humor, had an excellent villain, provided each character with a moment to shine, and showed the team functioning together as a unit during fights with ripples of dischord during personal interactions. Anticipation for the next film was incredibly high and i was lucky enough to be in London for the premiere! The feeling of excitement was palpable as I sat in a theater in London, Joss arrived to introduce the film with a speech, the lights went down, the Marvel logo flashes! By the end of the screening, unfortunately I was left with the feeling of disappointment. From the terrible vaguely Eastern European accents, to the forced sexual tension between Black Widow and Bruce Banner, to an uninspired portrayal of Quicksilver (as compared to the Pietro of the X-Men film universe), the characterizations all seemed off. The action was fine, the comedy was still great (lifting Thor’s hammer scene was quite funny), the villain had moments of brilliance, but overall the film left me wanting the cohesion that was so vital to the success of the first installment.
Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013): Any upcoming Star Trek film will fill me with nerdy anticipation, as the return to my favorite universe is filled with the promise of new a Trek masterpiece. Especially since the first film in JJ Abrams rebooted Star Trek franchise got the casting so right, notched up the action, and had a modern vision of the ship and technology (lit with lens flares!). The major flaw was that the villain was terrible, but the new film had leaked quite early that the antagonist for the new film was Khan, which had the potential of being the best or the worst idea ever. Unfortunately, the latter proved to be true. There is a fine line in pastiche between homage and tripe, and taking the classic, moving, emotional scene from The Wrath of Khan and flipping it was meant to pull at the heartstrings for any diehard Trekkie, but they got the tone entirely wrong, it was placed much too early in the characters relationship to have any significant meaning, and then the screenwriters instantly reversed the death moments later, removing any strands of emotional resonance they had earned from the audience. The film relies so heavily on surface level feelings and action that it forgets the value of building real character moments that don’t depend on a viewer’s relationship to a film in the franchise’s past that is beloved. This sequel failed to find it’s own footing in the Trek universe.
28 Weeks Later (2007): I am not one for horror films, they are much too scary and gory, but I saw the original film 28 Days Later in film school and was absolutely captivated. There were moments of stillness, absolutely incredible imagery, characters that felt fully formed, and chilling sequences of the living dead chasing the true living. The sequel was only the second horror film I went to see in the theaters and I walked away utterly disappointed. Without writer Alex Garland (my new favorite writer/director of Ex Machina) to ground the film in reality or director Danny Boyle to design breathtaking visual sequences, the film felt so conventional, predictable, and in all ways fell flat. This is number one on my list based on the intensity of my excitement in relation to the depth of my disappointment.
Honorable Mentions:
Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man’s Chest (2006): The first film had the potential to be awful, based on the fact that it was developed off a Disneyland attraction. However, it was delightfully charming, full of action/adventure, and had a rousing score. While the sequel was weighted down by extraneous action scenes, the central offense was to split up the three main characters, effectively gutting the film of the trio’s captivating chemistry, fully cementing the film’s legacy as a middle movie that exists just to set up the final trilogy. This is a case where more budget, more special effects, and a bigger scale was detrimental to the sequel, where the filmmaker’s box office ambitions led them to lose sight of the elements that fueled the franchise’s success.
