[ad_1]
Science fiction franchises have the benefit of developing their themes, characters, and world over-time. Many of the best science fiction sequels are essential to their respective franchises’ success; it’s impossible to think about the Star Wars saga without mentioning The Empire Strikes Back, and the Mad Max franchise is most closely associated with the success of Mad Max: Fury Road.
A bad sequel can ruin a franchise’s reputation, but not every sequel has earned the same praise as Aliens or Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Here are ten of the most underrated science fiction movie sequels, ranked.
10 ‘Ghostbusters II’ (1989)
If making a great science fiction movie is challenging, making a great comedy sequel is even harder. That challenge is exponentially more difficult if the first film is an all-time classic. Although Ghostbusters II is a pale imitator of Ivan Reitman’s 1984 original, it still features terrific performances from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Huson as their character Venkman, Ray, Egon, and Winston, respectively.
Ironically, Ghostbusters II served a somewhat meta commentary on the first films’ popularity; the characters are unexpectedly considered heroes, and most prove that their initial success wasn’t a fluke.
9 ‘Riddick’ (2013)
Pitch Black was one of the more original science fiction horror films since the original Alien from 1979, so it made sense that Vin Diesel’s character Riddick would star in his own spinoff. While 2008’s The Chronicles of Riddick got lost within its own mythology, the 2013 continuation Riddick was a return to form for the series.
Diesel is oddly charismatic as the near-silent assassin, but it’s Katee Sackhoff that steals the film as Riddick’s new ally Dahl. Riddick hopefully won’t be the last film in the unusual sci-fi horror saga.
8 ‘Star Trek: Generations’ (1994)
Star Trek: Generations was the first live-action feature film that starred the cast of the beloved Star Trek: The Next Generations television series. While The Next Generation had found a natural way to conclude the characters’ story arcs, Generations found a way to make Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard more vulnerable. After learning of the death of his family on Earth, Picard considers if he is mistaken in his long-held prejudice against children and families.
The film also featured the first interaction between Picard and William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk on the big screen.
7 ‘Predator 2’ (1990)
Predator 2 swapped the jungle setting of the 1990 original film for an urban setting, and replaced Arnold Schwarzeneggar with Danny Glover. While Predator 2 is quite as relentless as its predecessor, director Stephen Hopkins has fun letting the ruthless alien assassin loose in a completely different environment, opening up the possibilities for what the Predator franchise could do in the future.
Placing the Predator within a drug war between Colombian crime families and the Los Angeles Police Department was a fun way to capitalize on the success of 1990s police procedural thrillers.
6 ‘Alien 3’ (1992)
It’s interesting that every successive Alien sequel essentially contradicts its predecessor’s ending. Ellen Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) safety at the end of Alien is disrupted early on in Aliens, and the new “family” she finds at the end of the 1986 sequel is killed off within the first few moments of Alien 3.
While Alien 3 may not be the best film within David Fincher’s filmography, the future Fight Club director made a bold choice in returning the Alien saga to its controversial roots. The controversial ending that Fincher used for Alien 3 serves as a much better wrapup for the series than the disastrous final act of 1997’s Alien: Resurrection.
5 ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ (2021)
The Matrix Resurrections isn’t just a sequel to The Matrix trilogy, but a film that considers how the first three films affected popular culture. Lana Wachowski used the sequel to commentate on how easily misunderstood the message of the original trilogy was, and breaks the fourth wall to analyze studio politics, toxic masculinity, and consumerism.
Although The Matrix Resurrection isn’t as action-packed as its predecessors, it features the most compelling romantic relationship in the series between Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie Anne-Moss). Hugo Weaving’s absence was unfortunate, but The Matrix Resurrections found another great villain with Jonathan Groff’s character.
4 ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’ (1997)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park has two major advantages over every other Jurassic Park sequel; it was based on one of Michael Crichton’s original novels, and was directed by Steven Spielberg. This made all the difference, as The Lost World: Jurassic Park still feels like a logical conclusion to the series and not a complete cash grab.
Although Jeff Goldblum’s Dr. Ian Malcolm had been more of a comedic character in the original film, he was bumped up to main character status in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Goldblum does a great job at playing a more mature version of the character.
3 ‘Max Max Beyond Thunderdome’ (1985)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome may be the weakest of George Miller’s Mad Max films, but considering its competition, that’s no small statement. The opening “Thunderdome” action sequences featuring Tina Turner’s Auntie Entity showed just how inventive Miller could get with his vision of a post apocalyptic future.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome takes the series in a more heartfelt direction in its finale, as Mel Gibson’s Max Rockatansky is tasked with rescuing a group of innocent children. This felt like a rewarding conclusion to Max’s character arc, and stayed true to the franchise’s western themes.
2 ‘Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning’ (2012)
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning changed the course of the Universal Soldier franchise forever. While Roland Emmerich’s 1992 original had been nothing more than a dull shoot ‘em up action film, director John Hyams transformed the saga into a psychological horror series.
The film examined how the cult of violence begins within the age of the Internet. The film follows the ex-soldier John (Scott Adkins), whose family is murdered by the deranged cult leader Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Turning the protagonist of the first film into a villain was a bold choice that paid off.
2010: The Year We Made Contact had the seemingly insurmountable task of serving as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. If Kubrick approached the future with trepidation, then 2010’s director Peter Hyams looked to the stars with optimism.
The film’s new characters Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider), Walter Curnow (John Lithgow) and Dr. Chandra (Bob Balaban) search for the first film’s main character Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea), only to discover a life-affirming message from HAL. Using the world that Bubrick had beautifully established, 2010 stands on its own as an entertaining, joyous space adventure.
[ad_2]
Source link
Armessa Movie News