Most movie-franchises are big money-churners at the box-office. However, barring a couple of exceptions, most sequels lack the charm of the original film. 'The Matrix', which was followed by the ho-hum 'The Matrix Reloaded' and the downright bad 'The Matrix Revolutions' would be a classic case in point. 'Speed' and 'Speed 2:Cruise Control' highlights the qualitative difference even more clearly. Even popular movie franchises like 'Paranormal Activity' and 'Mission Impossible' have not been uniformly good in terms of the entries in them. Here are some lovely Holly flicks which definitely do not warrant sequels:
1. The Sixth Sense (1999) - Going by his latest works, M. Night Shyamalan is no longer the director that he once was. Telling him to helm a sequel of this beautifully crafted eerie film would be disastrous - while going for another filmmaker would rob the first film of its underlying feel. Also, given the delicious final twist in 'The Sixth Sense', there is hardly any room for a sensible sequel being spawned.
2. The Notebook (2004) - The good thing is, both 'Allie' and 'Noah' die at the end of this endearingly tragic film. However, imaginative as the Hollywood filmmakers are - they might think up a sequel to the film, with the leading duo spreading the magic of their literally 'undying' romance in heaven now. Let alone being worth a watch, even the idea seems an insult to the brilliantly-made Nick Cassavetes flick.
3. Avatar (2009) - The antics of the creatures on Pandora wowed viewers - but that does not mean a repeat dose would be equally enjoyable. Sadly, director James Cameron has already agreed upon making as many as three sequels. With all due respect to Cameron's directorial expertise, it can be safely stated that none of them would have the feel of uniqueness which contributed so much to the first film's success. Another sci-fi alien film can always be made - why dilute the magic of 'Avatar' for it?
4 Inception (2010) - Make no mistake - 'Inception' is a brilliant film, one of the very best of Christopher Nolan's works. Many viewers had problems in keeping up with the 'dreams-within-dreams-within-dreams' scenarios though, and a sequel would only complicate matters further. What's more - even if Leonardo diCaprio reprises his role, he is not likely to bag an Oscar (considering the actor's ill-fate at the awards). Let us catch television reruns of 'Inception' or watch it on DVD - we don't want an unnecessary sequel thrust on us!
5.Clueless (1995) - There have been television shows inspired from 'Clueless' - one of those romantic comedies that have an oven-fresh feel about them. A sequel, if ever it was made, would probably feature a middle-aged 'Cher Horowitz', waddling her way through a forcefully put-together script. Things ended absolutely smoothly in the movie, and we certainly do not want another 'Mean Girls 2'-like experience!
6. Stand By Me (1986) - Probably the most perfect adaptation of a Stephen King novel, this film offers absolutely no scope for a sequel. The mesmerizingly haunting theme music (by Ben King) should be enough reason on its own why no one else should try to tamper with this film. A remake, perhaps, might be worth a watch - but a sequel would be pointless
7.Shaun Of The Dead (2004) - Horror movie sequels generally don't go well, with 'The Grudge' franchise becoming steadily worse, and 'The Ring 2' not being a patch on 'The Ring'. Making a sequel to a zombie-comedy would be an even tougher ask. If indeed a follow-up to 'Shaun Of The Dead' surfaced some day, we would probably have to see 'Liz' and 'Shaun' (probably a lot older) trying to take on a fresh set of undeads. The same gigs and punchlines? Not a chance!
8.The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) - What would they even name the sequel - 'The 40-Year-Old-Virgin 2' which makes no sense!), or 'The 41-Year-Old-Virgin'? Let's just hope that no director takes it to his head to make a follow-up to this funny, entertaining rom-com. Steve Carell was no longer celibate by the end of the 2005-flick, what more can he want?
9.E.T. (1982) - With this film, Steven Spielberg laid down a benchmark in the domain of alien-themed movies in Hollywood - and no one should even dare to try making a sequel. It's okay for Rakesh Roshan to take inspiration from 'E.T.' for his blockbuster 'Koi Mil Gaya', but there won't be any chance of a sequel being able to recreate the magic of this landmark movie. Spielberg knew what he was doing, when he turned down sequel offers!
10.Reservoir Dogs (1992) - Even today, Holly fans absolutely love to see a well-made, violent, gory flick. The recent success of 'Django Unchained' pretty much proves that. However, how can anyone make a sequel to this masterpiece from Tarantino? Almost all the principal characters are bumped off in the movie - ruling out the chances of a regular sequel. A prequel can be made at best, but it won't probably interest too many people.
11.Independence Day (1999) - Now, the idea of a sequel to this 1999 sleeper hit won't be a terribly bad one. The problem is, Will Smith has already done more than his fair share of 'saving the world from doomsday' routine - and he is nowhere near his prime form at present (if you have seen 'After Earth', you would surely agree!). Someone else can, of course, step in - but then it would be a better idea to make an altogether separate film.
12.Up (2009) - Pixar Animation Studios made three 'Toy Story' movies - each of them equally (if not more) enjoyable than its predecessor. The same strategy won't work for 'Up' though. Neither children nor adults would be interested in seeing an even older 'Carl Fredricksen', desperately trying to be even more grumpy than in the first film. It might even occur to some filmmaker to kill off Carl's character and make a sob-story called 'Up 2'! Let's just hope things do not come to such a pass.
13.Children Of Men (1992) - Yet another sci-fi flick that lives on in the minds of movie buffs on account of its novel premise and captivating performances. With Clive Owen's 'Theo' and Julianne Moore's 'Julian' having no chance to feature in a sequel (for dead people do not come back!), carrying on with this dystopian tale would be unnecessary and in all probability, an irritating fare. 'Children Of Men' was a delight to critics and general cinegoers - its magic should not be slurred by a sequel that bombs!
14. Love Actually (2003) - Even in the present age of computers and mobile apps, few people pass up on the chance of watching 'Love Actually' on the TV, for the umpteenth time. Since the movie was about the interlinked stories of a fairly large set of characters, making a direct sequel is, thankfully, out of the question. What the makers can do is make an unrelated, run-of-the-mill rom-com with an ensemble cast, and try to cash in on the popularity of 'Love Actually'. Won't be a good idea at all.
15. Scarface (1983) - One of Al Pacino's finest works definitely does not deserve to be followed up by a lousy sequel. Given that the central character ('Tony Montana') finally dies in the film, it would be next to impossible to bring back the aging Pacino in the sequel. All that might happen is Nicolas Cage (who signs way too many films for his own good) bumbling through the role of an underworld don. Spare us the horror, please
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