There are sequels that are bad or just don’t measure up to their predecessors, but sometimes they change what we thought of the first film.
For a man who wasn’t primarily into movies, my father often had some astute observations about film. Now this conversation we had was years ago when only 5 Rocky films existed, and for my entire life those films were seen as a punchline for jokes about a bad series. Yet somehow, the first film was an Oscar nominated film. I didn’t get it. My father said something to the effect of “yes, but sometimes bad sequels can tarnish the original. It makes them think of just those sequels and forgetting how good the first one was.”
Now in the years since, Rocky has really pulled itself out of that stigma with “Rocky Balboa” and “Creed.” They really showed the series had legitimately good stories left to tell. I’ve also come across other movies whose legacies seemed to have been screwed up by their own sequels. While all of these examples’ first outings aren’t as great as the first “Rocky,” it’s still amazing how far they fell. They now cause some to dismiss them just because the sequels didn’t measure up. I specifically picked these comedies because they all seem to follow basically the same path.
Note: these are in no particular order.
4.) Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Let me just mention that I am a HUGE James Bond fan. I love the series and “Austin Powers” is to 007 like how “Galaxy Quest” was to “Star Trek.” Which makes it impressive that I found this as funny as I did when I hadn’t seen many of the 007 films yet. So, we have Mike Myers playing Austin Powers taking all of the silly and campy elements of James Bond from the early 60s films and dialing them up to 11.
After being frozen in time until his nemesis returns, he’s thawed out once Dr. Evil (also played by Mike Myers) resurfaces in the 90s. Austin must stop Dr Evil with his new partner and learn to adapt to a new world that seems to have grown past him and his ways. Even if you miss all of the Bond jokes, the gags of a man out of time are just truly great.
Fun Fact: Jim Carrey was originally meant to play Dr Evil, but had to back out for unknown reasons. I think it’s fair to assume we would have had other villains take over the sequels if that happened.
Speaking of which, the sequels. First I’d like to remind readers that the first Austin Powers wasn’t huge success in theaters, it was as a home video where its popularity really exploded. When the trailers for “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” began to hit they were some of the most popular. Although to be fair, some of that popularity may have had to do with the fact that the teasers were parodying “Star Wars” at the same time “The Phantom Menace” was beginning to launch their teasers. “The Spy Who Shagged Me” goes crazier and a little more adult in its humor. While I wouldn’t show young kids the first film, I think it overall struck a good balance as many different age groups could enjoy the first film.
Then, we had “Austin Powers in Goldmember” which has one of the best openings to a comedy ever, and for the most part is funny. Some jokes go on a bit too long, or are too repetitive from the last two, but they still had some really strong ones in there as well. It’s the ending that just ruined the entire film for me. I won’t go into it. I know it’s a silly comedy and I know they were ending the trilogy, but man that ending is such a major misfire. It ruined the last film for me and endings are important. You could say the last film in a trilogy is an ending so seeing it end on such a sour note almost ruins it all for me. Although I’d say this is probably more a case that the Austin Power craze was so EVERYWHERE for awhile that people were just getting tired of all the “Yeah bbbaby, Yeah!” Which can make some who are so sick of the fad question why they liked it in the beginning.
3.) Men in Black
It’s often said that “Men in Black” was a breath of fresh air for summer movies in the late 90s. Such an original idea for a film. Not many realize this was actually based on a comic book. In fact, this seemed to come right in the middle of the 90s trend of adapting a comic few people recognize, like “The Crow” or “The Mask.” I can remember seeing this in theaters when it first came out and the world it created and possibilities for a long running series just seemed so enticing. I can’t tell you how many times we played “Men in Black” or some variation on it in our backyard that summer. I remember when the animated series started up. That wet my whistle for more stories for a bit, but I wanted more… I wanted sequels.
Seeing the first trailer for “Men in Black II” was one of the most exciting moments I ever had in a theater at that time. Now unlike a lot of people I don’t hate the “Men in Black” sequels. Upon re-watching the second film it doesn’t hold up nearly as well, but as a fun enough film to watch on TV in the afternoon it’s fine. “Men in Black III” was disappointing not because it was especially bad, but more in a “seriously guys?! THIS is all you could come up with with all those years in between?” It’s not a bad film just nothing especially great about it (aside from Josh Brolin’s scary accurate Tommy Lee Jones impression) and given the talent and time they had to put this together that is a big letdown. And perhaps that’s why these films feels tainted. The first film had SO many places they could go and the sequels never really capitalized on it, and the fact that the sequels weren’t terrible. They are competently made films made by talented people, but never reached full potential as a series.
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2.) Meet the Parents
Probably the biggest dip in quality from first film to the last film. The original (or rather the 2000 film) most have seen or heard of was a big hit with audiences and critics (it’s actually a remake of a 1992 film that seems to be only slightly easier to find than the ark of the covenant). Now if you mention it, you’d probably get someone to roll their eyes. It’s about a guy named Greg Focker meeting his girlfriend Pam’s parents for the weekend and all the accidents and problems that arise (Fun Fact: Jim Carrey was originally attached to the role, but before he left he did contribute that name joke and since it’s also the same director as “Austin Powers” I can only assume Jay Roach REALLY wanted to work with Carrey). Not helped by the father’s (Robert De Niro) paranoid nature and being an ex-CIA agent. It’s a film full of funny scenes made even funnier by just how awkward they can make them. It’s kind of like the principle of “breaking the pain barrier” used by “Pink Panther” director Blake Edwards. In those you have scenes where someone on a lower floor sticks his finger through the floor and it accidentally gets stepped on. That’s funny, but it becomes funnier if you make it even more painful by having that same character being suspended in air by having his finger being stepped on. That seems to be how this film goes about its comedy by showing how Greg screws up more and more embarrassingly. It was a good film that for many introduced them to the idea that Robert De Niro could be really funny in a comedy.
So as the ending teased we got a sequel called “Meet the Fockers” which went even further with the joke. While the first film was silly and the idea that the father would be an ex-CIA agent is probably unlikely, it was still in the realms of possibility. “Meet the Fockers” went even sillier with Greg’s parents and awkward situations. It no longer felt real like the first film, but funny is funny and seeing Dustin Hoffman as a spaced out hippie dad was funny. Now years later we got another sequel called “Little Fockers” which was certainly the worst. They couldn’t even get the same director. Not only that, but in addition to the similar “MIB” problem of “wow you guys had THIS long to plan a sequel and THIS is what you came up with?” it’s also just an incredible slog to get through with none of the actors looking like they wanted to be there. Definitely the worst of the series and again seems to make everyone forget how much they enjoyed the first film. The first film is almost unrecognizable from this. It kind of reminds me of the principle of Ivan Reitman in “Ghostbusters” of building one crazier idea on top of each so the audience doesn’t question how we got to such an absurd place. I guess seeing how crazy and far the films got away from the original idea made it hard for some to re-watch it knowing it exists in the same world as Barbra Streisand’s therapist mouthing Robert De Niro and… EVERYTHING that happened in “Little Fockers.”
1.) Rush Hour
The main thing I can always say for this film is that it introduced me to Jackie Chan. I know on the internet it’s much cooler to have been into something BEFORE it went mainstream, but it’s true “Rush Hour” was where I first became aware of him. The story is about the young daughter of a foreign diplomat being taken hostage during rush hour traffic and held for ransom. The diplomat calls an old friend/Chinese cop (Chan) to find his daughter, but the FBI doesn’t think he can possibly help. So, they get someone from the LAPD to keep him busy. They get a cop (Chris Tucker) who is already on thin ice with his department. Due to them patronizingly tricking him into the assignment, he decides to try to solve the case himself. Fish out of water/odd couple/buddy cop silliness ensues. Not the most original idea, but very well executed. What I find interesting in re-watching it is how much its tone and visuals try to make it look and feel like a regular cop film. There’s just funny jokes that happen to be going on.
Now each sequel was highly anticipated. It seemed like every interview with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker had to address it. However, it’s funny how much this follows the “Meet the Parents” sequels track of the 2nd film is actually a decent sequel. It’s funny, a little goofier, and farther away from the original premise but still decent. The third film is the “not only is this bad but it’s amazing it’s this bad” when they had THIS much time to figure out what it would be about. Also, that look and tone I mentioned earlier completely disappeared in the sequels as they got more colorful and for lack of a better term… comedy looking. The director Brett Ratner has also majorly gone down in the years since the sequels. Which is a shame as he used to make good movies and in interviews seemed to really know what he was talking about which makes his descent all the sadder. This all goes for cases where a filmmaker used to make great film after great film, but nowadays makes crap (I’m sure you have an example in your head). But no matter what, those later films can’t and shouldn’t affect the earlier films. That’s ultimately the reason for writing this article. I hope I reminded readers of this idea.