Are Some Movies Too Perfect To Have A Sequel?

[batnbreakfast]

Chinatown
Robocop
Highlander

Ignore the sequels even if you're curious about the rest of the story (right now I also would add Jessica Jones after S1 and DD after S2 or Frank Miller's DKR but its about teh movies )

[Zauriel]

If there is a movie that is too perfect to have a sequel, that would be the Sound of music. I would also say "A Streetcar named Desiree" .

[CliffHanger2]

Maybe not too perfect but too old.

[silvercover]

nope, you can always have a sequel, isn't that very fact why you guys are here in a forum site that's primarily dedicated to comics that churn out endless sequels? now whether that sequel sucks or not is another matter, but that shouldn't really close off sequels. there's also a lot of ways to make a sequel you know, you can follow right after the previous story or have a lot of time to pass, follow on new characters or use the same characters.

some people have said in the past that the Avengers was the perfect movie, would it have been great then to end the MCU there? Iron Man 3 sucked, Avengers 2 sucked, Thor 2 sucked, therefore proving right that it would be better to end the MCU on Avengers than face all these bad sequels? then we wouldn't have gotten Civil War, Black Panther, Infinity War, Endgame, etc.

[C_Miller]

The Last Picture Show is one of the greatest movies of all time. It's a deep, introspective movie about the decay of a small town and the struggles that the young people face as their old town ages and dies around them.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Texasville. A sequel to The Last Picture Show which looks like a Hallmark Original movie. The crazier part is that it's written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich (who did the original) and most of the cast reprises their roles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdmYkfKqUxA

[The Gold Stream]

yeah pulp fiction

[Arfguy]

I would say: no.

If there was no Back to the Future II & III, I would have to say that BttF is about as perfect and self-contained a movie as one can have. However, there is a BttF trilogy and it is absolutely wonderful.

I maintain that the Matrix should have been one and done, but I think if a sequel was done with as much thought as the first one was done, I would probably love the sequels.

[DrNewGod]

I don't know if there's an absolute answer to this, but I certainly have my preferences.

Starter Set made a great point about The Matrix.

Die Hard: John McClane had his transformative experience and recovered his family, and should have been done.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark: Indiana Jones should never again have been able to hold the agnostic tough guy attitude that made him who we met in the film's opening. He certainly shouldn't have been that character after experiencing the events of The Temple of Doom, which was set a year earlier.

Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan: I get that this one was, itself, a sequel, but not really, it was the film they should have made in the first place. The story of the crew of the USS Enterprise was over, having lost one of their own, and with the rest moving on with their lives.

First Blood: they should have stuck with the ending in the book. All that followed basically cheapened the story.

Some would point to The Godfather as the example that disproves the rule. However, except for the Cuba and Las Vegas stuff, much of the film was material from the original novel that was left out of the first film, so it's kind of a special case.

[Malvolio]

Chinatown
Robocop
Highlander

Ignore the sequels even if you're curious about the rest of the story (right now I also would add Jessica Jones after S1 and DD after S2 or Frank Miller's DKR but its about teh movies )

Ironically, Frank Miller wrote the screenplay for Robocop II.

[ed2962]

nope, you can always have a sequel, isn't that very fact why you guys are here in a forum site that's primarily dedicated to comics that churn out endless sequels? now whether that sequel sucks or not is another matter, but that shouldn't really close off sequels. there's also a lot of ways to make a sequel you know, you can follow right after the previous story or have a lot of time to pass, follow on new characters or use the same characters.

some people have said in the past that the Avengers was the perfect movie, would it have been great then to end the MCU there? Iron Man 3 sucked, Avengers 2 sucked, Thor 2 sucked, therefore proving right that it would be better to end the MCU on Avengers than face all these bad sequels? then we wouldn't have gotten Civil War, Black Panther, Infinity War, Endgame, etc.

Who has said this?

[green_garnish]

I'd be inclined to expand the question to TV shows. X- Files and Twin Peaks were not well- served by movie sequels. Neither was Star Trek: TNG, for that matter, other than First Contact.

[Mister Mets]

My favorite movie is The Godfather, and that had a great sequel, so this really isn't a question of quality or perfection.

There are other factors which determine whether it makes sense for a film to have a sequel. In some cases, the initial situation was weird enough that the characters shouldn't go through it again (Jaws, Die Hard), the original story had a definitive ending which closed off any chance of a follow-up, or a sequel would undermine the ambiguity of the original.

I wouldn't be the best judge of determining what can or can't make a sequel. I wouldn't think Watchmen would benefit from one, but the HBO mini-series was great.

[EmeraldGladiator]

The Usual Suspects was probably my favorite modern film and while I am curious if the detective went after Kaiser Soze that movie is the epitome of too perfect for a sequel.

[Vakanai]

There are other factors which determine whether it makes sense for a film to have a sequel. In some cases, the initial situation was weird enough that the characters shouldn't go through it again (Jaws, Die Hard), the original story had a definitive ending which closed off any chance of a follow-up, or a sequel would undermine the ambiguity of the original.

I never really trucked with the notion that ambiguity is some great plus to keep up.

[BeastieRunner]

I would add to the Matrix rumblings here.

I enjoyed the sequels but that movie is pretty ideal for standalone. What my imagination does is far better than the sequels. It could be and should be looked upon like Inception is right now.

While I quote Ghostbusters II all the time and really enjoy the universe and Afterlife looks good ... I would say Ghostbusters. That hurts to even write!

Basic Instinct, Caddyshack, Blues Brothers, Dumb & Dumber, Godfather, Speed, Grease, Independence Day, Mask, Teen Wolf ...