*death stare *
Indiana Jones 4 what now?
I dunno, the ending to Rocky 1 was just so… perfect. So anti blockbuster. Thematic perfection, any addition can only detract.
The same can arguably be said about First Blood, really. Which is kind of odd with Rambo: First Blood Part II being such a bombastic action flick (and a pretty entertaining one), often at odds with the very message of the first film. And let’s not talk about Rambo III.
At least First Blood 2 was the perfect 80’s action flick, so I forgive it that. But your point is certainly taken, it really is an odd juxtaposition.
Die Hard 1 to Die hard With a Vengeance anyone?
I’m not sure yet if Die Hard 4 and 5 ruined the Die Hard movies for me or not.
Die Hard is pretty much perfection.
Die Hard with a Vengeance is perfection if you cut off the last 15 minutes (unfortunately that also cuts off the line “Yippie Kai Ye …”, but I’m fine with that).
Die Harder: A below average action flick, but the network version of the movie has the best line (“Yippe Kai Ye Mr. Falcon”)
But yeah, Die Hard 4 was weird. I’d put it as the same quality as Die Harder. And then Die Hard 5 was just so hard to watch. I was soooooo bored, I had to literally force myself to keep watching until the end.
Usually I’m heavily influenced by sequels, but I don’t think the sequels will ruin Die Hard or Die Hard with a Vengeance for me, just like Alien 4 didn’t ruin Alien and Aliens for me.
Is it too soon to say Ghostbusters? And I mean the shameless, unfunny cash-grab that was Ghostbusters 2 Really helped put the final nail in the coffin that held my respect for Dan Akroyd as a comic actor.
Yeah, I misspoke. I forgot the naming, the one that ruins it is Live Free or Die Hard. It was terrible.
No, they are not that bad. In fact, they are pretty good. But nowhere near as good as the original.
What!! The Rescuers is great. Just that opening scene with the storm and bottle and “rescue me” song playing… what a strong sense of feeling they created, and later, the alligators playing the organ pipes is priceless. The patronizing and condescending to the female character is interesting to watch as the were trying to show the opposite… how times have changed. The sweaty Deep South bayou remains so much more mysterious and atmospheric to me than anything in “Down Under”.
only 4 was crap and unneeded…
The Mummy series…
The first one was entertaining. The second not so much. The third not at all.
Again, what is with this joke about there being an Indy 4? You guys keep saying it as if this actually happened. Next thing you’ll be insisting that Shai LePoof starred in it or something. That’d be ridiculous.
Also good to know that @mono’s poor taste in Indy movies is not universally held here ;)
I was hiding in an old refrigerator and missed that there was a fourth Indiana Jones movie completely.
+LIKE
Odd. That’s the biggest character development moment Jason Bourne has, and I wouldn’t say there’s anything obvious about it. First of all, the moment is completely shocking: I remember seeing the movie in theaters, and the entire audience gasped when Marie was shot, without any ceremony. There’s nothing by-the-books about it. But second of all, it motivates Jason Bourne in the opposite way that a loved one’s death usually motivates action heroes. Marie’s death is what makes Jason Bourne realize he can be more than just a weapon. Instead of seeking out revenge by finding Marie’s killer, Bourne instead makes a conscious decision to try to right the wrongs he’s done to others instead. It’s testament to how excellent the Bourne Ultimatum is as a film that it’s able to totally subvert this formula of a hero trying to avenge a loved one, and still be one of the best action movies of all time… not to mention the way the movie deftly makes viewers think on first watching that Bourne’s motivations are one thing, when they’re actually something very different.
Hey, millions of folks love the Transformers movies, so it’s not as if you guys are without company.
;)
I will not stand for such slanderous insults. Reported, and good day. Hmmmppphhh.
I truly understood the appeal of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when I saw it with a bunch of 8-10 year olds. They just got so excited when Indy falls out of the plane on an inflated raft. Or so disgusted when Amprish Puri pulls out someone’s beating heart out of their chest. It was actually quite wonderful to watch the movie with them. I was a teenager already, but it was like experiencing the movie again with new eyes and I still count that as one of my favorite movie watching experiences ever.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is still my favorite in the series. It’s tough when going up against the original, but I just love the dynamic between Indy and his father so much, nothing can beat the third movie for me.
Well put, and a mirror to my own sentiments. Sean Connery and Harrison Ford really do sell the relationship. I love how the character of Henry Jones talks like a professor of history and literature.
Highlander 2 NEVER HAPPENED!
I think a lot of it has to do with how open or closed-ended the movie is when looking at the impact of sequels.
I don’t think the “sequels” to Jaws, Die Hard, Rocky, Alien or Raiders reduce or enhance the joy of the first movie for me hardly at all because the originals are pretty much atomic. Everything you needed wrapped up in the movie is complete at the end; there aren’t really any loose threads. I can comfortably ignore or embrace the sequels as I see fit.
By contrast, movies that kind of tease out the possibility of a sequel or which end on semi-ambiguous notes make it a lot harder to do. These may be movies with a more-than-satisfactory ending, but one in which there is obviously more to do: the heroes have won a victory, but the enemies are not fully vanquished. You then go into the sequels hoping to see that ultimate resolution provided in a high-quality way… and if it fails, the original is tarnished. The Matrix is an example where the sequels failed to provide that; Star Wars (IV) is one where the sequels were largely up to the task.