Successful action movies always have a chance at getting a sequel, but not all of these follow-up movies are good ideas. Sometimes, it’s best to leave a great action movie as a standalone film, and there have been plenty of terrible, sorely misguided sequels that prove this point.
If an action movie is conceived as a standalone story, it can be incredibly difficult to come up with a sequel that feels like a natural and worthwhile addition. Another problem that action sequels face is replacing actors or directors who don’t return for whatever reason. Without the same concept and the same key people, a sequel can seem pointless.
Independence Dayisn’t necessarily the finest piece of cinema ever produced, but its relentlessly entertaining nonetheless. In a way,Independence Daypaved the way for the state of modern blockbusters, but 20 years later,Resurgencelacked the same original streak.The sequel is a rehash of the same alien invasion plot, without enough new ideas to make it worthwhile.
One problem withIndependence Day: Resurgenceis that Will Smith chose not to return for the sequel, and the movie sorely misses his charisma. A bigger issue could be thatResurgencetakes place on an Earth boosted by two decades of alien technology, so it’s barely recognizable and the climactic action scenes devolve into CGI spaceship-on-spaceship shambles.
Speedis still one ofKeanu Reeves' best movies, so a sequel was always going to struggle without him. Sandra Bullock returned forSpeed 2: Cruise Control,but her presence wasn’t enough to elevate a sequel that nobody asked for.Cruise Controltakes the electric premise ofSpeedand tries to put a new twist on it. Unfortunately,this twist is much less exciting.
10 Action Franchises That Peaked With The Very First Movie
From Jurassic Park to The Matrix, some of Hollywood’s most famous action franchises never managed to recapture what made the original films so good.
Aside from the fact that a slow-moving cruise ship lacks the inherent dynamism of the speeding bus from the first movie, the much larger vessel also means that characters aren’t confined in the same pressure-cooker environment.Speed 2starts to mimicDie Hardat times, which ignores all the strengths of the first movie.
Pacific Rimmight look like splashy, soulless action from the outside, but Guillermo del Toro manages to take its brash exterior and carve a surprisingly emotional and intelligent story. Without the Oscar-winning director, the sequel has no such surprises. Its only appeal is the giant mech-suit smashing action.
Creating a sequel without del Toro’s vision always ran the risk of turningPacific Riminto something generic and uninteresting. With Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman also missing,the sequel resorts to a grab-bag of sci-fi action genre tropesto fill the time between its excessive, overblown fight scenes. AlthoughUprisingwas a critical and commercial flop, anewPacific RimTV showis on the way.
Takenwas clearly only ever meant to be a standalone film, but it was such a huge success that a sequel seemed like a good idea. In hindsight, it might have been smarter to give Liam Neeson another original premise, leveraging his newfound status as an action star. He’s the real draw in theTakenfranchise, while the concept is less important.
Once again,Taken 2tells the story of Mills trying to save a family member after a kidnapping. Of course,this is less unique the second time round, andTaken 2tries to overcompensate for this by creating some more outlandish action sequences. The grounded tone of the first film is abandoned, signalling the decline of theTakenfranchise, which would only continue with another pointless sequel.
TheFast & Furiousfranchise has changed a lot over the years, growing from a movie about an undercover cop infiltrating a ring of dangerous street racers into an explosive action franchise with ridiculous stunts and a trip into space.Tokyo Driftwas a stumbling block on this progression, and it now looks like an unnecessary detour.
10 Action Movie Franchises That Totally Went Off The Rails
These action movie franchises went completely off the rails when each new movie tried to be a bigger spectacle than the last one, with weird results.
Tokyo Drifttells a new story with new characters, bringing the franchise’s momentum from2 Fast 2 Furiousto a screeching halt. By introducing Han and director Justin Lin, it made at least two valuable contributions, but its story adds nothing to the franchise. Of course,Fast and Furiousrecovered, andFast 11could be the biggest entry yet.
5RoboCop 3 (1993)
RoboCop Completely Changed Its Tone
The originalRoboCopis a brilliant sci-fi action movie, but it has been followed by sequels and a reboot that failed to live up to its standards. WhileRoboCop 2still has plenty of saving graces,RoboCop 3is often derided as a pointless sequel that completely ignores the tone and style of the original.
RoboCop (1987)
92%
84%
RoboCop 2 (1990)
28%
37%
RoboCop 3 (1993)
9%
15%
50%
49%
RoboCopis darkly satirical, but still gritty and mature.RoboCop 3betrays this style by leaning into camp, excessive sci-fi.The sequels tried to broaden the appeal of the franchise by adhering to a PG-13 rating, which strippedRoboCopof its shocking violence. Without Peter Weller or Paul Verhoeven,RoboCop 3should never have been made.
WhileRoad Houseis still held in high regard as a slice of ’80s action schlock, the direct-to-video sequel has been largely forgotten about. Without Patrick Swayze, and with a much lower budget,Road House 2was only ever meant to cash in on the goodwill people still felt toward the original.
Amazon Prime Video’s franchise reboot has already gotten the go-ahead for a sequel, but this new version ofRoad House 2has Jake Gyllenhaal returning. This immediately makes it a different prospect to 2006’sRoad House 2,which has been widely panned as a cheap knock-off without the goofy fun of the original.
The originalIndiana Jonestrilogy that came out in the 1980s would be a perfect action-adventure franchise, filled with Steven Spielberg’s singular magic and graced by Harrison Ford’s performance.The Kingdom of the Crystal Skullwas a big step down when it came out in 2008, but it was a worthwhile experiment.The Dial of Destinywas always destined to be a dud.
10 Sequels To Iconic Action Movies (That Came At Least A Decade Later)
Sequels to action movies have been known to come out more than a decade later and benefit from the anticipation – or make for an even bigger letdown.
The odds thatThe Dial of Destinycould have revived a franchise that had already had one false dawn were slim, especially when it was confirmed that Steven Spielberg wouldn’t be returning. James Mangold constructs a couple of great action scenes, but it’s not enough to justify wheeling Indy out one more time for a misjudged sequel.
The Matrix Reloadedhas a few incredible action sequences, as the Wachowski sisters once again push the limits of their unique concept. The highway chase in particular is still sure to excite action fans, butthe story doesn’t live up to the same standards, which is a shame considering how the first movie is so intelligent and thought-provoking.
The Matrixnever needed a sequel, since the story wraps up so nicely. Neo reaches his full potential and transcends his existence. The obvious question that a sequel needed to answer was where a story could possibly go from there.The Matrixfranchisenever recaptured the magic of the original, starting withThe Matrix Reloaded.
The poster for the firstExpendablesmovie proudly displays the names of its action genre titans in bold letters. Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Willis. The fact thatExpend4blestakes the same approach with a much less impressive list of names shows that the franchise probably should have wrapped things up much earlier.
The Expendablesfranchise is a throwback to the heady days of ’80s and ’90s beat-em-up action flicks. It offers simple thrills and a nostalgic trip. As soon as the franchise started trying to sustain itself by introducing new blood, it lost sight of the appeal.The Expendables 3was the first sign of real decline, and the franchise didn’t need to return nine years later.
