10 WORST MOVIE SEQUELS OF ALL-TIME
As a movie aficionado (and film “purist”), it’s disheartening to see the volume of sequels (or “prequels”) that are being made these days. And though I generally don’t like sequels at all, here is a list of the 10 “worst” sequels I’ve ever seen. And that is key here – that I’ve seen. So while I’ sure movies like “Halloween 5”, “The Grudge 3”, and “Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings” are just putrid piles of visual garbage, I’ve luckily not seen them. My criteria for “worst” is not only judged by the film being terrible in and of itself, but also how the film stacks up in comparison to its predecessor(s). Without further ado, I give you the 10 WORST MOVIE SEQUELS OF ALL-TIME:
10. “Jurassic Park III” (2001)
Now don’t get me wrong, “The Lost World” (1997) paled in comparison to “Jurassic Park” (1994), but this third installment didn’t hold a candle to the mediocre standard that “The Lost World” set. It’s too bad because Dr. Grant was my favorite character from the original.
9. “The NeverEnding Story 2: The Next Chapter” (1990)
As a child, “The NeverEnding Story” (1984) took me on a magical journey with RockBiters and flying dragons. As an adolescent, “The Next Chapter” took a NeverEnding dump on one of my most cherished favorites.
8. “Anaconda 3: The Offspring” (2008)
As if Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez weren’t bad enough in the original, we now get David Hasselhoff trying to resurrect his terrible acting career in one of the worst reboots ever. If you’ve not seen it, save yourself not only from the lame special effects and cheesy one-liners, save yourself a two-hour experience that makes the SyFy channel look respectable.
7. “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989)
Though “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984) was also a terrible film in the Trek universe, nothing beats traveling to the center of the universe with Spock’s self-centered half-brother to meet “God” only to have Kirk quip: ‘What does God need with a starship?’
6. “The Matrix Revolutions” (2003)
As much of a letdown that “The Matrix Reloaded” (2003) was compared to the blockbuster original, at least it had a somewhat coherent storyline. Revolutions, on the other hand, saw hundreds of Agent Smiths breaking the matrix and going super-saiyan on a blind Neo. Just when you think the standard set from Reloaded couldn’t get any lower, this film came out.
5. “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” (1998)
Unless there was some sort of serious case of amnesia, it would be hard to forget all of your friends being murdered and you barely escaping with your life. I’m being a smart ass here, of course, but it’s essentially the same movie as the first one, defeating the purpose of a slasher / fright film.
4. “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003)
A female terminator villain who can make her breasts grow and shrink on command? Yeah…nothing else needs to be said here.
3. “Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation” (2004)
Now here’s a gem! If you’re expecting a bunch of brain-sucking bugs attacking a glorified group of marines as was the case in the first film, you’d best avoid this one. The film sees a band of marine misfits trapped in a building by a sandstorm. Yes, the bugs are supposedly outside, but perhaps the budget was too small to actually use special effects, because you never really get to see them, just hear them through the walls.
2. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015)
So I had to pick one film from the Star Wars franchise to be on this list because unfortunately, there’s a few truly terrible films in the 8 that now exist. But it came down to “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” (1999), “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” (2005), and this cringe-worthy piece of JJ Abrams trash. Yes, Jar Jar Binks is truly one of the worst ill-conceived characters in movie history, but at least The Phantom Menace tries to do something original with its story. Revenge of the Sith is the only Star Wars films that gives The Force Awakens a run for its money as the worst film in the franchise, but again, at least Revenge had its own original storyline. The Force Awakens is the exact same film as “Star Wars: A New Hope” (1977) with terrible characters and plot holes that one could steer a Star Destroyer through. I’m confident that when looked back on in twenty years, Disney’s latest trilogy in the anthology will be viewed unanimously as worse than the prequel trilogy.
- “Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
It was really difficult for me not to put “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in this spot for as big of a Star Wars fan I am, but all I had to do was watch the first ten minutes of this stinking heap of manure to convince me that there are indeed worse films out there. A strange female villain who can apparently use the Force in only the first scene, giant ants that eat people, atomic bomb-defying refrigerators, and aliens. Yes, aliens. This film is the biggest offender of destroying precious childhood memories.
Other candidates that didn’t make the top 10:
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Back to the Future: Part III (1990)
Predators (2010)
Mission Impossible II (2000)
Batman & Robin (1997)
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Scary Movie 5 (2013)
The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Sex and the City 2 (2010)
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)
Home Alone 4 (2002)
Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015)
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
Can you think of any other truly terrible sequels that I didn’t include on this list? If so, let me know. Because while I seek the best of the best in the world of film, there’s (admittedly) a curiosity of what the worst of the worst looks like. Thanks for reading!