Baffling sequels

Son of the Mask! Dumb and Dumber(er)

 

The original became a cult classic on cable due to the popularity of "On the Dark Side". Which is likely one of the reasons the sequel was made.
There were a couple of other good songs from the soundtrack - "Tender Years" - to name one.

 

The original Police Academy was kinda funny. Police Academy 2-6+ were just worthless retreads of the original that had no business being made.

The original Revenge of the Nerds was funny. The sequels not so funny.

Tron: Legacy -- Why put out a sequel 28 years after the original comes out?

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps -- This story continuing the Gordon Gekko saga didn't need to be made - especially 23 years after the original came out.

Blues Brothers 2000 - Some great musical numbers, but John Goodman replacing John Belushi, no excuse to make this shlock.


On a separate note, a movie sequel I'm still waiting on, based on the trailer at the end of the original is History of the World Part 2.

 

I don't doubt both movies have their merits and their fans. It just baffled me that a few years after the first one was little more than a modest cable hit, somebody in a position to make such things happen actually said, "You know what we should do? Eddie and the Cruisers TWO! It'll make a killing!"
Kind of like The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals that I cited in the OP. I like U.S. Marshals, it's an enjoyable movie, but I'm not sure anyone was chomping at the bit for the further adventures of Sam Gerard.

 

A lot of movies catch on after they hit home video or cable and the sequels make a lot more money than the original. The Austin Powers movies were like that.

The original Eddie and the Cruisers was made for $6 million and made most of that back at the box office plus a lot more from soundtrack albums. Making another one with a low budget was a relatively low risk venture.

 

Wild Geese II - the first one was a classic with Richard Burton, Richard Harris and Roger Moore. The second one with Edward Fox was a bomb.

 

As Rolling Stone said in its review of this bomb: "Would you watch 'Jaws' without the shark?"

Slap Shot II and III are abominations and should be napalmed.

 

I know some people like it but Godfather III is pretty awful. Godfather II is good and the original is outstanding but III shoul have never been made in my humble opinion.

 

Coppola actually went to some effort to foreshadow/ set up the foundation for GF III by developing growing distrust and possible conflict between Michael Corleone and Tom Hagen late in the storyline of GF II, but then let that all go to waste when Robert Duvall was not re-signed for the role of Hagen.

 

Weekend at Bernies II.

 

I've been told other Highlander were made.


And Return to Oz.

 

Both good calls. Sadly for me, I've seen the other Highlander movies. The level of awful tended to vary, but the last one was so bad that I've spent a great deal of time trying to block it out.