The 6 worst legacy sequels ever made

We’re not sure if we’ve reached peak legacy sequels, but we do know that this style of nostalgia-driven film is never going away anyway. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice This is a series of many Film series We’re talking about a legacy sequel, which should be shortened to Legacyquel or Lega Sequel. There you have it. For those who don’t know, a legacy sequel is basically a franchise installment set a generation after the original (or latest) installment, which attempts to tell a new story with familiar characters and lineage. It can be a mix between a reboot and a remake. Remake .

This repackaged nostalgia can go in many directions. Some, like Creed, spawn new franchises with the help of dedicated creators and talented actors. Some, like Doctor Sleep, simply deliver effective stories that respect the original. But there are also plenty of attempts that fall far short, trying to recreate the past solely on atmosphere and little else. Here are some of the worst legacy sequels ever made.

1 Independence Day: Resurgence

Negative impact

I forgot about this movie for a long time, almost wiping it from my mind immediately after seeing it. I don’t know who thought, “What’s up with President Whitmore and David Levinson?” It wasn’t me, and in fact it wasn’t a lot of people. It’s so far removed from the story that made Independence Day so great that it seems like a hard story to carry over a generation later. With compelling actors, a well-written script, and a general parody of previous popular action and sci-fi movies, Independence won out for its focus on excitement and high-stakes.

Despite bringing back both Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, Resurgence fails to cohere a memorable story or characters worth caring about, feeling like a shell of the original and with none of its young stars being particularly interesting.

Related

What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

Borderlands, which was released last weekend, failed to impress critics or audiences despite an all-star cast that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Cate Blanchett, and Kevin Hart, scoring just 10% on the Tomatometer and grossing just $8.8 million from over 3,000 theaters, resulting in one of the worst opening weekends of the year. For more on Borderlands, check out critic Anthony Marcus’ review at the link, but speaking of terrible movies, I wondered, what is the worst movie you’ve ever seen? Maybe it’s a recent bias, but I remember being totally disappointed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania with its cheesy design, poor story, and lackluster effects. For me, that movie represented the worst period of the MCU, and I remember thinking that if this is what the franchise is going to be like, Tony Stark really died in vain. Sure, I guess he’s back now (in a way), but either way. What is the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

2 Jurassic World

I was wondering if I could…

I enjoyed Jurassic World a lot, mainly because I absolutely adore the original and love anything to do with dinosaurs, but Jurassic World is a dud – it’s completely devoid of creativity and heart, has a cast of boring characters, and doesn’t seem to care much about the women in the film (Claire is shamed for being career-driven and is punished by having to run from a T-Rex in high heels).

Jurassic World was made to revamp a franchise that couldn’t resist making money. This resulted in questionable sequels that brought back beloved characters. It’s really hard to pick which of the three was the worst. But the good news is, they’re also planning to make a whole new trilogy!

Related

Which live-action film series would you like to see adapted into an anime?

Animated films have had an uphill battle in the West to break the perception that they are “for kids.” In places like Japan, anime has always been for all ages, with films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell, and shows like Cowboy Bebop and Serial Experiments Lain aimed at late teens and adults. Thanks to a few big hits that paved the way, anime has become as respected as live-action films. But this is the first time that an existing film series has started to incorporate a full anime feature, and we saw it in the recently released trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Battle of Lohirrim. Of course, there have been animated Lord of the Rings films before, but this one is unique in that it will be part of the canon along with Jackson’s other films. I think the only other time this has happened was with The Animatrix, which came out during the Matrix films. It’s a great way to explore the world of the film series in different ways.

3 Exorcist: The Believer

Don’t buy

Exorcism movies have had a bit of a tough time ever since The Exorcist set an incredibly high standard. It led to a long-running franchise, but none that really stood out (other franchises have done a much better job of portraying exorcisms on screen in a compelling and terrifying way). Once again, The Exorcist franchise returns with two of the main characters from the first film. While the film was meant to be the start of a new trilogy, The Believer seems to be the beginning of the end.

Believer came out without much fanfare and was generally deemed uninspiring and not particularly scary, and while it’s unlikely we’ll see a new attempt in the near future, it’s hard not to believe the series isn’t going anywhere.

4 Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Just an atmosphere

Despite its appealing cast, pleasant aesthetics, and familiar atmosphere, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is little more than a remake of the original, save for the female dialogue-heavy roles. The film is generally competent and well-made, but shallow and ineffective, substituting name-dropping for storytelling in the lazy way that most traditional sequels do, and bringing back iconic characters without doing anything to deserve them.

Afterlife isn’t a bad movie. It’s just unnecessary, and feels like a plot device meant to keep the series in the cultural conversation and spur further sequels. There’s nothing new or surprising about this movie, which is perfect for a Saturday afternoon.

5 Space Jam: New Legacy

2 hours of commercials

I hope no one is particularly disappointed by Space Jam: The New Legacy, because I simply can’t imagine a scenario in which you could expect this movie to be anything remotely good: it’s a nearly two-hour drudgery of corporate synergy and personal branding, made directly or indirectly solely to make money.

This boring movie, soulless and heartless, epitomizes the worst of sequels of the past, with studios relying on names and nostalgia to soften any potential harshness, and putting everything through focus groups to make it as palatable as possible. There’s nothing redeeming or watchable about this Warner Bros. movie that’s going to make you really care about Warner Bros.

6 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

While The Rise of Skywalker is technically the final instalment in a trilogy made less than a decade ago, it is also deeply connected to films from almost 40 years ago. It completely ignores The Last Jedi that came before it and tries to tell a big story in a short amount of time, hoping that audiences will enjoy it based on the fact that they enjoyed the original trilogy.

While The Force Awakens was a decent remake of A New Hope, JJ Abrams crafted a pretty awful remake of Return of the Jedi. It has everything perfect: a villain who switches sides to join an orphaned Force user in the fight against the Emperor, a cute alien who has a thing for C-3PO, and a big battle featuring Lando Calrissian. There are a few new characters who don’t get much action, some returning characters who are pushed to the background, and a story that doesn’t make much sense and could have been reworked. This movie was made to save the name of the franchise instead of delivering something even remotely satisfying or entertaining.