10 Best Sequels to Bad Movies, Ranked

The sequel will endlessly be part of the movie business for so long as it exists, with the idea of having the ability to add upon and proceed a narrative at all times too engaging to producers and audiences. Whereas many individuals will swear by the unique at all times being higher than the sequel, quite a few distinctive sequels launched through the years are on par and even higher than the unique. Nevertheless, even this could make sense, as the identical artistic group is often behind a sequel on high of the unique, and seeing them proceed to hone their craft often produces higher outcomes.

What’s at all times jarring, nevertheless, is a movie deemed by many to be an entire crucial catastrophe that also earned sufficient cash to ensure a sequel. In opposition to all odds, a few of these sequels can exit of their strategy to proper the wrongs and massively enhance on a failed unique product, changing into akin to phoenixes rising from the ashes. Though actually uncommon within the movie area, these are the sequels that vastly improved upon their predecessors, proving that typically, all a film wants is a change of path.

10 ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ (1982)

Unique Movie: ‘Star Trek: The Movement Image’ (1979)

The unique Star Trek: The Movement Image was removed from an outright horrible movie. Nonetheless, particularly in comparison with the good and nonetheless related supply materials, it flounders in practically each alternative. The movie merely did not perceive what made Star Trek so impactful to audiences throughout the nation, focusing an excessive amount of on massive motion setpieces as an alternative of character dynamics and world-building. Mixed with some notoriously gradual pacing, Star Trek: The Movement Image was by no means going to reside as much as the mastery of the unique sequence.

Quite the opposite, the follow-up, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, shortly grew to become the blueprint and premiere instance of how one can adapt Star Trek to movie. It had larger stakes, extra attention-grabbing characters, and extra emotional moments. The Wrath of Khan has extra human story than the unique might ever hope to be, expertly delivered to life by a superb forged on the high of their recreation. For a lot of, it’s nonetheless the best Star Trek venture thus far, a strong assertion of simply how a lot of a legacy this movie nonetheless holds, particularly over its predecessor.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan

Launch Date

June 4, 1982

Runtime

113

Writers

Gene Roddenberry , Harve Bennett , Jack B. Sowards , Samuel A. Peeples , Nicholas Meyer

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9 ‘Annabelle: Creation’ (2017)

Unique Movie: ‘Annabelle’ (2014)

The unique Annabelle was the primary spinoff of what would ultimately change into the complete Conjuring universe of movies, telling the story of a haunted doll terrorizing a household. Whereas the movie discovered success on the field workplace, many critics have been fast to write down it off, because of its appreciable lower in high quality from the primary Conjuring movie, falling into lots of the drained clichés and pitfalls of early 2010s horror. Thus, Anabelle grew to become nothing extra than simply one other low cost, jumpscare-filled horror film that repeated the identical drained story beats of different, significantly better supernatural horror movies.

Horror is a style constructed upon sequels, because of its decrease budgets and large revenue returns, so the prequel, Annabelle: Creation, was solely an inevitability. In a stunning accident, and underneath the guise of Lights Out director David F. Sandberg, Annabelle: Creation massively succeeded the place the unique Annabelle failed. The movie options nice and satisfying scares, genuinely likable and nuanced characters which are fulfilling to look at, and what might simply be thought of among the finest twists and payoffs from a horror movie of the period.

8 ‘The Indignant Birds Film 2’ (2019)

Unique Movie: ‘The Indignant Birds Film’ (2016)

Tailored from the extremely profitable cellular recreation, The Indignant Birds Film tried to translate what was already a barebones story right into a full-feature movie. Outdoors of very younger kids and probably the most die-hard followers of the sport, there’s little or no that the unique film has to supply to a normal viewers, paralleling many different generic household motion pictures of the period. For some cause, the movie additionally has some unusually problematic messaging and themes which have made it age like milk that is been ignored to dry.

Nevertheless, The Indignant Birds Film 2 finds extra crucial success as a cinematic expertise by utterly abandoning any pretense and connection to the sport and going all in on absurdist comedy. Underneath the directorial imaginative and prescient of Thurop Van Orman, finest generally known as the creator of The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, The Indignant Birds Film 2 is a nonstop comedic drive that pleasantly surprises extra usually than it disappoints. It nonetheless has its occasional pitfalls as a generic household film, however its comedic highs greater than compensate for its occasional lows.

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7 ‘The Wolverine’ (2013)

Earlier Movie: ‘X-Males Origins: Wolverine’ (2009)

All through the 2000s and earlier than the MCU really took off, Marvel’s golden franchise was simply the X-Males, with X-Males Origins: Wolverine appearing as step one in a full sequence of prequels for the enduring characters. Whereas the potential was actually there for a Wolverine origin story, the execution utterly botched all potentialities for greatness, as an alternative appearing as a painful slap within the face for followers of the comics. Mixed with dismal particular results that regarded worse than the primary X-Males movie, Origins: Wolverine shortly attained standing as one of many worst X-Males movies of all time.

Whereas Origins: Wolverine killed off any possibilities of any extra Origins movies to be made, the character of Wolverine acquired an opportunity at redemption in James Mangold‘s standalone sequel, The Wolverine. Following Wolverine touring to modern-day Japan to face off with each highly effective foes as he struggles with the dying of Jean Gray, the movie instantly washed away the dangerous style of Origins: Wolverine. The Wolverine featured distinctive motion setpieces and set the stage for the massively acclaimed Logan.

6 ‘Ouija: Origin of Evil’ (2016)

Unique Movie: ‘Ouija’ (2014)

So far as by-the-numbers and painfully mediocre horror motion pictures of the 2010s from main studios go, the unique Ouija is up there as one of many worst. Its makes an attempt to create scares and horror out of the traditional board recreation created nothing greater than boredom and disappointment in practically everybody who noticed the movie, incomes it a infamous 6% on Rotten Tomatoes. Being the one horror film providing throughout the Halloween season of 2014, it nonetheless earned $100 million worldwide on a $8 million finances, guaranteeing a sequel.

In what might simply be the best improve in high quality in a follow-up to its predecessor, Ouija: Origin of Evil is a genuinely nice prequel that stands by itself deserves as a horror tour de drive. It is one in all many brilliantly crafted horror experiences from director Mike Flanagan, finest recognized these days as one of many main visionaries in horror. Ouija: Origin of Evil one way or the other manages to take the lackluster ideas of the unique movie and weaves a wonderful story of unhappiness, dread, and evil that each horror fan ought to watch.

5 ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ (2024)

Earlier Movie: ‘Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey’ (2023)

The unique Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was largely lauded as a crucial disaster and even thought of by some to be one of many worst motion pictures of all time. The blatant utilization of the newly public-domain Winnie the Pooh character to create an inexpensive and surprising horror movie was not misplaced on many audiences, however Blood and Honey was a painful expertise even for reasonable horror requirements. It does not even try to have enjoyable with the idea of murderous childhood icons, with drab lighting and an all too severe tone that makes it an entire slog to sit down via.

Whereas many different beginner filmmakers would crumble underneath strain and quit hope after such a crucial reception, director Rhys Frake-Waterfield did the alternative. Buckling down and taking criticism into consideration, he made the sequel a real supply of the idea. Giving credit score the place it is due, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 discovered a strategy to succeed the place the unique failed. Whereas removed from excellent, the movie is way more tongue-in-cheek and efficient in its strategy to horror, lastly having enjoyable with the absurdity of its premise whereas additionally making its violence and carnage enjoyable to look at.

Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2

Launch Date

March 26, 2024

Director

Rhys Frake-Waterfield

Forged

Scott Chambers , Ryan Oliva , Tallulah Evans , Simon Callow , Eddy MacKenzie

Runtime

100 Minutes

Writers

Rhys Frake-Waterfield , Matt Leslie , A.A. Milne

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4 ‘Quick 5’ (2011)

Earlier Movie: ‘Quick & Livid’ (2009)

The Quick and the Livid franchise has seen a large number of ups and downs throughout its decade-spanning existence, with the fourth movie within the sequence, Quick & Livid, appearing as probably the most infamous low. Regardless of reuniting Vin Diesel and Paul Walker for the primary time because the first movie, Quick & Livid is extraordinarily slowed down and dated by the conventions and tendencies of late 2000s filmmaking. It options what was simply the worst story of the sequence but and paints an total dour image of issues to return.

Nevertheless, the blueprint and potentialities for a return to glory for the franchise have been actually seen from the outlook, and it merely took till the following entry to appreciate it. The Quick saga is as massive of a franchise due to the affect and legacy of Quick 5, a no-holds-barred thrill trip motion movie that reduce all of the fats and delivered wild second after second in what some nonetheless take into account the most effective of the sequence. Quick 5 was a game-changer, that includes an distinctive antagonist in Dwayne Johnson‘s Hobbs, who stored the movie grounded in what was simply a career-defining movie for the star.

Quick 5

Launch Date

April 29, 2011

Runtime

130 minutes

3 ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017)

Earlier Movie: ‘Thor: The Darkish World’ (2013)

Whereas the overwhelming majority of MCU movies all through the 2010s have been broadly beloved and proceed to earn reward from critics and audiences, the Thor movies at all times felt just like the exceptions. Whereas the primary movie held its place as an honest fantasy movie, Thor: The Darkish World was a serious low level for the MCU, particularly in comparison with each different movie in Part 2. Its boring story, uninteresting character dynamics, and drab, grey colour palette have made it one of the vital forgettable motion pictures of all time, in addition to the worst movie within the MCU.

The Thor sequence wanted a lift of power to maintain up with the remainder of the colourful and comedically charged MCU sequence, and the answer got here courtesy of director Taika Waititi. It is laborious to grasp simply how impactful his work on Thor: Ragnarok was to the MCU. The affect and magnificence seen in Ragnarok, mixing colourful high-concept visuals, quippy improvised dialogue, and deeper overarching themes, shortly grew to become a template for blockbuster filmmaking. Whilst many have tried and failed to copy the magic of Ragnarok (even Waititi himself might recreate it with Thor: Love and Thunder), Ragnarok nonetheless holds up as probably the greatest MCU movies.

2 ‘The Suicide Squad’ (2021)

Earlier Movie: ‘Suicide Squad’ (2016)

Because the ending of the DCEU, its steady legacy stays one in all company mismanagement and an entire lack of focus and imaginative and prescient. No movie embodies these destructive elements like the unique Suicide Squad, which was famously butchered within the modifying bay and utterly modified in response to the success of Guardians of the Galaxy. Whereas audiences could by no means see David Ayer‘s unique imaginative and prescient for Suicide Squad, the ultimate product is missing in soul, hobbled collectively by take a look at screenings and spreadsheets as an alternative of real ardour.

The movie was nonetheless a hit on the field workplace, however it did not obtain a sequel per se. As a substitute, the quasi-reboot non secular sequel The Suicide Squad would discover large enchancment because of James Gunn, the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Gunn has a definite directorial imaginative and prescient and love for comedian books that shines via completely on display, making a blissful combination of violence, absurd creativity, and real coronary heart. Whereas it disenchanted on the field workplace, The Suicide Squad continues to be thought of the very best level of the DCEU, a step up from a movie that was in rivalry for the bottom level of the DCEU.

The Suicide Squad

Launch Date

July 28, 2021

Runtime

132

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1 ‘Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)

Earlier Movie: ‘Star Wars: Episode II – Assault of the Clones’ (2002)

Sufficient time has handed that many individuals overlook simply how reviled and disenchanted the plenty have been within the Star Wars prequel trilogy, with many seeing them as a bastardization of the franchise. Assault of the Clones may be the worst of this trilogy, with its underwhelming performances, boring story, and painful particular results making it one of many worst Star Wars movies. Whereas the movie is not utterly devoid of positives, it is not precisely what individuals have come to anticipate from Star Wars.

Nevertheless, regardless of all the chances and expectations, Revenge of the Sith truly caught the touchdown, preserving the legacy and significance of all the prequel trilogy. Whereas it is commonplace these days for there to be a extra optimistic outlook and revisionist historical past for the prequel trilogy, the overwhelming majority of this love is positioned upon Revenge of the Sith over the opposite two movies. The third movie has quite a bit going for it, from its wild and over-the-top motion sequences to its efficient payoff to storylines constructed upon all through all the trilogy and among the most iconic moments in Star Wars historical past.

NEXT: 25 Finest Film Sequels of All Time, Ranked