To Sequel or Not to Sequel, that is the Question

As a writer (if I dare call myself that), I can understand the decision of the movie studios to make a sequel. You find something that works and draws an audience and there is this overwhelming desire to hold onto them as long as possible. However, I've also learned the lesson that going to the well once to often can leave it dry.

Then again, there are rare occasions when a sequel can either better the original, or at the very least, do it justice. Still, those instances are few and far between, often resulting in a feeble attempt that leaves the audience with a less than stellar memory of the first film as well.

So with that in mind, I thought I would thought I would highlights three films that studios should have just said "let's leave good enough alone" and left as stand-alone offerings.

The Crow
Released in 1994, The Crow was a fantastically gritty film directed by Alex Proyas and based on the comic book series of the same name by James O'Barr. Based in a city the likes of Detroit, The Crow tells the story of Eric Draven, who returns from the dead a year after the murder of Draven and his fiancee to avenge their deaths.

The pace of the film, coupled with the dark backdrop of the city and a hip soundtrack, The Crow was what every sequel to Batman should have been; a noir that transcended its influence.

Given that Brandon Lee, the main character was killed in the initial film, the thought would have been that the studio wouldn't go down the sequel road. However, since the comic told multiple stories of folks being brought back for vengeance, the studio had its reasons to bring it back. However, none of the subsequent films, with only the second being released in theaters, performed as well as the initial offering and were easily forgotten.

The Matrix
Released in 1999, The Matrix is one of those films that because of its genius, spawned a generation of knock-offs. Telling the story of Thomas Anderson's (Neo) journey from corporate lackey to "The One", The Matrix wove a tight-knit story of personal discovery, revolution, and religion. It could be said that Wackowski Brothers' packaging of different film types, cutting-edge technology (Bullet Time), and "What if?" story line did more for movies, either in a good or bad way, than any other film in the last 20 years.

I guess it would be tough to categorize the Matrix as a film having sequels, as the film was originally conceived a trilogy, but as the second two installments were not approved prior to the success of the first, the Matrix seems more like a stand-alone offering. The film essentially ends after Neo became "The One" and could have easily stood on its own without the others, but the studios pressed forward. The second film, The Matrix Reloaded, was drab and felt rushed, and given the introduction of new technology in the first, felt more like an exploitation of that technique than an actual film. The final installment, The Matrix Revolutions, does a nice job of trying to wrap up the overall story, but still pales in comparison to the original.

American Pie
Also released in 1999, American Pie made movie audiences fall back in love with teen sex comedies, so much so that the industry quickly started churning out their own copies (Road Trip, Eurotrip, etc). The first film tells the tale of four friends, who after reaching their senior year in High School, vow to help one another lose their virginities by prom night. The laughs ensue when the four trip all over themselves while trying to prepare themselves for the fateful night. An ode to films like Porky's, American Pie was as much about self discovery as it was about scoring, showcasing the growth of each of the characters into men while they tried to become one themselves.

But like its influences, well enough could not be left alone, and two sequels, American Pie 2 and American Wedding, were subsequently released. And while these films were funny in their own right, they did nothing to advance the series, instead working off of the same formula that endeared audiences to the first. This lead the studio to turn American Pie into a National Lampoons type of franchise, adding the American Pie presents tag line to three more direct to video releases.

That is just a sampling of films that were solid, but are overshadowed by the unnecessary sequels that followed them. Unless dictated by a pre-written story that needs to be broken up into smaller segments, studios should simply tell one good story and then move on to the next.