Great Movie Sequels of Our Time
A Brief Look at When Film Makers Strike Gold With Follow-Ups
Jun 17, 2008
To most movie fans, the idea of a sequel to a film they enjoyed is one to dread. This is normally the case, as the traditional sequel that has been fashioned by the big-bucks paradigm of Hollywood is a tiresome watered-down and sometimes even a parody like shell of the former movie(s).
The Phantom Menace was a Long Time Ago - But it Still Hurts
What may be even worse is the sequel that should not have even been considered due to the large amount of time elapsed since the original. It is well known that the best case for this blasphemy was Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999). Let's hope Lucas' and Spielberg's return to the Indiana Jones saga 19 years after the last film with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) is not another flop. Having said this, the critical forecast a few days before the UK release of the picture does not look good.
How Can Episode Five be the First Sequel?
Let not the opacity of failure brand the legacy of George Lucas however. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is the classic sequel. Suitably dark and despondent; Empire's atmosphere reflects the partial downfall and almost full defeat of the Rebel Alliance as well as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) neglecting to complete his Jedi training to save his friend in Cloud City.
Empire's ending cliffhanger and revealed plot secrets change the shape and direction of the saga making the audience yearn for the next instalmentís tale of redemption and victory and ultimately giving a perfect example of how to master the art of the sequel first time around. Moviegoers across the globe will certainly be thanking the celluloid deities that our next case study is the same.
In Holywood No One Can Hear You Scream...If You Make A Good Sequel
In 1986, master director followed master director when James Cameron created a superb sequel to Ridley Scott's original. Just as bleak and cold as Alien (1979), Aliens captured the essence of its predecessor in a decidedly more macho flick, leaning towards a warlike and siege situation rather than the stalked and hunted approach to the first film.
James Cameron revealed in an interview that during the making of Aliens he wanted to retain the essence of the first film by again using rubber suits donned by actors as alien creatures. Also he used camera angle trickery to give the illusion of many aliens in certain attack scenes when there was a limited number of suits and actors.
Cameron's epic tale of relentless pursuit and camaraderie between comrades in a hostile environment wins the day and is only paralleled by another film, also a struggle to save humanity against a futuristic threat intertwined with melodramatic scenes of human empathy and honour.
Staying with Cameron, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) maybe didn't capture the industrial tech noir vibe of the first outing, but created a grandiose, well told tale that maintained the perennial hunt of the original. The sequel remains to this day a lucid and approachable sci-fi action movie with both moral fibre and horrifying concepts that in the past decade or so hasn't really been achieved.
Look out for a sequel to this very article charting the successes of others like The Godfather Part 2, and examining the train wrecks that were the Matrix sequels - coming soon to a Suite101.com page near you! Rated 'W' for well written and suitable for all ages.
