Top 10 Movie Sequels That Look More Dated Than the Original
Newer isn't always better. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at movie sequels that aged like stale milk while their predecessors aged like fine wine. We’re excluding prequels like “The Phantom Menace.”
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00:00He's big! He's blue! He's black!
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo!
00:06And today we're looking at movie sequels that aged like stale milk
00:10while their predecessors aged like fine wine.
00:13We're excluding prequels like The Phantom Menace.
00:16Well, that smells stinkily.
00:20Losing power.
00:23Number 10. Batman Forever.
00:26Who the hell are you?
00:28I'm Batman.
00:29Where Tim Burton's two Batman movies existed in a Gotham City untouched by time,
00:34Joel Schumacher's foray into the franchise is an evident product of the 90s.
00:40Doesn't Batman ever kiss the girl?
00:42Trading neo-noir for a flashy neon nightclub aesthetic.
00:46The casting also feels incredibly 90s with Val Kilmer as a more kid-friendly Batman.
00:52I had to save them both.
00:54You see, I'm both Bruce Wayne and Batman.
00:58Not because I have to be.
01:00No.
01:02Because I choose to be.
01:03Jim Carrey at the peak of his popularity as the Riddler
01:07and a 20-something Chris O'Donnell trying to pass himself off as a teenager with attitude.
01:13I could definitely get into the superhero gig.
01:15In addition to channeling Power Rangers,
01:18it doesn't help that the look and tone draws inspiration from the 60s Batman show.
01:23Bruce, are you jealous?
01:25No, I...
01:27I can't be jealous of Batman.
01:31I want to be close, but you won't let me near.
01:35What are you protecting me from?
01:37Which was already dated.
01:39The studio doubled down on much of this in Batman and Robin,
01:42the film that temporarily killed the franchise,
01:45and the word cowabunga.
01:47Cowabunga!
01:50Number 9.
01:51An American werewolf in Paris.
01:55An American werewolf in London holds up
01:57with some of the horror genre's best practical effects,
02:00winning Rick Baker an Oscar for his makeup.
02:03Tomorrow night's the full moon.
02:06You're gonna change.
02:07A sequel was in development for over a decade
02:10until finally reaching the screen without any of the original's key players.
02:14Join us.
02:16I'd rather die.
02:20And so you shall.
02:25Baker's makeup expertise wasn't necessary
02:28because CGI was the shiny new toy.
02:31Now instead of painstakingly transforming a human
02:34into a practical werewolf,
02:36Hollywood could rely on computers
02:38and nobody would know the difference.
02:40What are you doing?
02:41Run!
02:42Run for your life, Randy!
02:43Run!
02:44Run, Randy!
02:45Run!
02:54Audiences quickly caught on though.
02:58And by modern standards,
03:00the werewolves wouldn't even cut it on a sci-fi original movie.
03:04Some scenes don't even show the werewolves,
03:06relying on POV shots,
03:08which could be effective if we didn't already see
03:11how ridiculous the monsters look.
03:14Run!
03:19Number 8.
03:20The NeverEnding Story 3.
03:22A terrible plague has overrun the Silver City.
03:26I was driven out of the ivory tower by a force so powerful
03:31even the Orin was unable to stop it.
03:33The NeverEnding Story has endured
03:35as a definitive 80's kids movie
03:37with creatures that still feel real.
03:40How do we find a human child?
03:42With luck.
03:45Faster, Falco, faster!
03:47We have to hurry!
03:48Alright, hang on tight!
03:55Its effects team had a Star Wars alumni in Brian Johnson
03:59who noted that since the film was produced in Germany,
04:02they had numerous experienced puppeteers.
04:05For the third and ironically final film,
04:08Jim Henson's Creature Shop brought Fantasia's residents to life.
04:12Oh, I'm losing altitude!
04:14Look out below!
04:20Look out!
04:21Although the Henson name is usually synonymous
04:23with quality practical effects,
04:25everyone got a massive downgrade.
04:28Fly faster, Falcor!
04:30Oh, yeah, easy for you to say.
04:33My back is killing me.
04:35Alright, let's head to my house.
04:36This is especially apparent in Falcor,
04:39who looks like an unfinished animatronic
04:41from an abandoned amusement park.
04:43The only thing more dated than the effects
04:45is Jason James Richter's hairdo.
04:47Would you happen to have a comb or a brush?
04:51Honey, I think you should have thought of that
04:53before you put on...
04:55No, I don't.
04:56But don't worry, you look perfectly impressive.
05:00Just to remind us that this came out in the 90's,
05:03Richter is promoted as the star of Free Willy.
05:07Number 7.
05:08The Return of Jafar
05:14I am free!
05:15Disney's straight-to-video sequels
05:17are known for lowering expectations.
05:19Since Return of Jafar was the first
05:21in a long line of cash grabs though,
05:23going from the 1992 blockbuster to this was jarring.
05:28I've traveled east and west
05:30and now I'm back again.
05:33Even compared to the sequels that followed,
05:35Return of Jafar feels particularly dated
05:38with the color and sharp express of comedy sucked out.
05:41We suppose this makes sense for a film
05:43that was originally supposed to be a TV pilot
05:46stretched out over multiple episodes.
05:48It also had a budget of roughly $5 million,
05:51less than five times what Aladdin cost.
05:54Uh, Jasmine?
05:56I'm sorry.
05:57I shouldn't have kept Iago a secret.
05:59Please, I've got to say this.
06:01Shh.
06:02I can't forget about my heart.
06:05I can't forget about my heart.
06:07And how it felt to fall for you right from the start.
06:09Then again, Warner Home Video's tiny tunes
06:12How I Spent My Vacation
06:14was produced for $350,000
06:24and looked infinitely better.
06:26Where that film had animation powerhouse TMS,
06:29Jafar settled for second rate.
06:31Sorry to spoil your picnic, boys.
06:34But I can't have any genies mucking about
06:37ruining my plans.
06:48It's hard to separate the original Ninja Turtles movie
06:50from the year it came out.
06:52Even with all the 1990s vibes,
06:54the first film has aged surprisingly well.
06:57This is largely thanks to the state-of-the-art turtle suits
07:00courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
07:03Excellent!
07:05Yeah!
07:07Come on, let's move it. I'm starving.
07:09While the Henson team returned for the second film,
07:12they weren't involved in the third,
07:14and it's painfully obvious.
07:16Where the turtle suits in the first two films
07:18all had subtle differences,
07:20they're practically interchangeable here
07:22other than the colored bandanas.
07:24Step back, dudes.
07:26I just brought us some heavy artillery.
07:28The designs are cringeworthy with googly eyes,
07:31dopey mouths, and more teeth
07:33than any turtle should have.
07:37We guess they're slightly better
07:39than the turtles from the Coming Out of Their Shells tour,
07:42but not by much.
07:50Number 5.
07:52Battle for the Planet of the Apes.
07:54I know what it is I want to change.
07:57Considering what the 1968 classic achieved
08:00on a budget of $5.8 million,
08:02you'd think the studio would invest more
08:04in subsequent installments.
08:06As the Apes series went on, though,
08:08the budget decreased.
08:10By the time we got to this continuity's
08:12fifth and final chapter,
08:14the filmmakers had less than $2 million to work with.
08:17No humans in council!
08:19Other than a few set pieces,
08:21the film lacks the original sweeping,
08:23post-apocalyptic atmosphere.
08:25This squirrel is missing.
08:27He must have been out looking for it.
08:29How is Cornelius?
08:30Hurt. He's badly hurt.
08:32Although makeup artist John Chambers
08:34worked on all five films,
08:36the Apes here look like they're doing
08:38a publicity stunt for Spirit Halloween.
08:40Even director J. Lee Thompson felt
08:42the reduced budget did the film a disservice,
08:45most notably during the climax.
08:55Which feels more like a battle for a micronation
08:58than a planet.
08:59Did the humans follow you here?
09:01We saw no sign of it.
09:02But we must prepare for the day
09:04when they may come out of the city.
09:06Number 4.
09:07King Kong Lives.
09:12From one damn dirty ape to another.
09:14By today's standards,
09:16the 1976 remake of King Kong
09:18might come off as a little hokey.
09:20Yet we can see why the film received
09:22an Oscar for its effects.
09:24Help!
09:29Which included a 40-foot mechanical Kong
09:32that only appeared on screen for a few seconds.
09:35Its follow-up was produced a decade later.
09:38Despite the technological advances
09:40during that time,
09:41the sequel is an all-around embarrassment.
09:48How embarrassing?
09:50When Siskel and Ebert wanted to discuss
09:52how King Kong lives on their national TV show,
09:55the studio wouldn't let them feature any clips.
09:58That's enough, Will.
09:59Leave the damn animal alone.
10:01Oh, Miss Johnstone.
10:03You're getting squeamish, honey.
10:05You're gonna kill him, kill him,
10:07but don't torment the poor son of a bitch.
10:09Of course, nothing is stopping us
10:11from showing clips.
10:12Just watching a few minutes of footage,
10:14you can see why the studio tried
10:16keeping the ape under wraps.
10:23Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
10:33Number three.
10:35Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
10:41Say what you will about the excessive CGI
10:44in the Star Wars prequels,
10:45but those effects were game-changing for the time
10:48and some shots still look impressive years later.
10:51That's more than can be said about
10:53Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
10:54Even in 2008,
10:56the CG gophers, monkeys, and aliens
10:58look like something from the previous
11:00gaming console generation.
11:06The effects have only grown more
11:08facepalm-inducing with time,
11:10which is disappointing considering
11:12how well the CG has aged
11:14in Steven Spielberg's other blockbusters
11:16like Jurassic Park.
11:22Spielberg and George Lucas wanted
11:24Crystal Skull to honor B-movies
11:26just as Raiders of the Lost Ark
11:28was a tribute to serials.
11:36Rather than pay homage to B-movies,
11:39they made a C-movie,
11:40and we think that grade is generous.
11:45Number two.
11:46Jaws 3D
11:52Come on, come on.
11:54No.
11:56Boy, come on.
11:59Speaking of B-movies,
12:01that's essentially what the original Jaws
12:03could have been.
12:10Between Steven Spielberg's masterful direction
12:13and several happy accidents,
12:15Jaws defied every expectation.
12:17Those anticipating a cheap monster movie
12:20had to wait for its sequels.
12:22While it's debatable if Jaws 3D
12:24is the franchise's lowest point,
12:26this is the most dated sequel.
12:28That's primarily due to its 3D gimmick,
12:45which was a trend in the early 80s.
12:473D made another comeback decades later,
12:49but Jaws 3D served as a reminder
12:51of how not to utilize this technology.
12:54Whether viewed in 2D or 3D,
12:56the shark never appears threatening.
13:08Where the original cleverly concealed the shark
13:10for much of its runtime,
13:12it's prominently displayed here,
13:14as if the filmmakers were seriously proud of this.
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13:41The first two Superman movies
13:43were events that treated the Man of Steel
13:45with the gravitas he deserved.
13:47With Christopher Reeve's fourth
13:49and sadly, last outing,
13:51Superman deteriorated into a joke.
14:00The campier tone is reflected
14:02in the $17 million budget,
14:04which is less than half
14:05what the previous three films were produced on.
14:10Initially, the film was going to be made
14:12for $36 million,
14:14but as the canon group fell
14:16on hard financial times,
14:18they cut virtually every corner.
14:26This extended to the special effects team
14:28with the studio relying on
14:30cheaper crews from Israel.
14:32If the original film made people believe
14:34that a man can fly,
14:35the quest for peace shows
14:37that one can just as easily
14:39fall from grace.
14:45Which sequels do you think look more dated
14:47than their predecessors?
14:49Let us know in the comments.
15:14.