The always-commendable Owen Gleiberman has another one of his excellent essays ready to be read over at Variety. This latest writeup deals with the state of the “Star Wars” franchise in 2019, but, more importantly, that four-decade-old phenomenon of movie sequels and franchises.
There has always been a knack for film critics to hate on sequels. That’s just the way we operate. We live for original storytelling. However, when it comes to sequels, there is the overall sense that, yes, they a lesser kind of art. After all, the prime objective of a sequel is to make more money, which, for many, defeats the purpose of “art.”
However, sometimes, very rarely, in fact, greed can mix with art.
It rarely happens, but when it does it’s a cause for celebration. Take, for instance, this list of the greatest sequels ever made:
(1) The Godfather Part II (2) Terminator 2: Judgement Day (3) The Empire Strike Back (4) Mad Max: Fury Road (5) The Dark Knight (6) Toy Story 2 (7) Before Sunset (8) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (9) Spider-Man 2 (10) Skyfall
Not bad, right? But for every great movie sequel, we have to endure more than a few bad ones.
Just this year: “X-Men: Dark Phoenix,” “Godzilla: King of Monsters,” “It: Chapter Two,” “Zombieland: Double Tap,” “The Lego Movie 2,” “Maleficient 2,” “Happy Death Day 2 U,” “Anabelle Comes Home,” “47 Meters Down: Uncaged,” “Angel Has Fallen,” “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” “The Angry Birds Movie 2.”