Shrek the Fourth
The first two Shrek movies are some of the best animated flicks of all time. The third has its certain charm. The fourth? Nothing but a soulless cash grab. The attempts at humor all miss, the characters are reduced to mere cliches, and the plot is shockingly weak. Still, a fifth movie is in the works, so maybe it can redeem the ogre’s last outing.
Grease 2
They say that you can never beat the original – and that’s certainly the case when it comes to Grease. The first movie was packed with iconic charm that’s still quoted to this day. The sequel? A barely memorable affair with subpar acting and terrible tunes.
Son of the Mask
This isn’t just one of the worst sequels of all time – it’s one of the worst movies ever made. It’s full of frantic, glaring jokes that fail to bring even the ghost of a smile to your face, while it attempts to hide its mediocrity through loud, distracting noises and colorful sets.
Mean Girls 2
If any movie deserved a decent sequel, it was Mean Girls. The teen flick quickly became a cult classic, with movie fans of all ages forever quoting its witty quips. The sequel was worse on all fronts – the writing, the plot, and the acting was all dire when compared to the universally-loved original – with the follow up being a mere stain on the comedy’s legacy.
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Some people love it, some people hate it. Unfortunately, the sequel to Whoopi Goldberg’s gospel-infused flick failed to capture the magic of the original. Although the filmmakers deserve some props for not simply repeating the OG film’s plot, it probably would’ve been better off remaining as a one-and-done kind of deal. Sorry, Deloris.
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock captured lightning in a bottle when they starred in 1994’s Speed. The sequel, however, was a true car crash, with its messy action pieces and cringe-inducing script resulting in disaster. It’s no wonder that Reeves turned down the chance reprise his role.
Mulan II
Disney’s direct-to-video sequels are rarely remembered for their quality (with Simba’s Pride being the rare exception). Mulan II is probably the worst offender, reducing everything you loved about the original to a mere memory. Dodgy voice acting and subpar animation result in this movie becoming a 120-minute snoozefest.
Pacific Rim: Uprising
The first Pacific Rim had all the makings of a potential franchise, with its unexplored lore resulting in an inevitable sequel. Unfortunately, director Steven S. DeKnight dropped the ball on Pacific Rim: Uprising, resulting in a watered down follow up that just wasn’t as engaging as the original.
The Star Wars sequel trilogy
Fans eagerly awaited a new installment in the Star Wars franchise for a decade, desperate to return to a galaxy far, far away. When it arrived, however, many were left disappointed. The Force Awakens was just a retread of A New Hope, The Last Jedi had low stakes, and The Rise of Skywalker was full of glaring plot holes.
Highlander II: The Quickening
The sequel to Highlander is just straight up bad. It doesn’t even fall into the so-bad-it’s-kinda-good category – it’s just a complete waste of time. Perhaps the worst sci-fi movie of all time, this flick can be used as a cheat sheet for future directors everywhere: whatever this film did, do the opposite.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Hollywood can’t resist taking a good franchise and squeezing it dry. That’s exactly the case with the fifth Pirates movie. While the fourth was bad, the fifth instalment is the true dud of the series. Reducing Jack Sparrow to a drunken, mumbling fool, alongside making some drastic changes to the world’s lore, the movie is a messy, unnecessary sequel with little charm.
Wonder Woman: 1984
In classic DC fashion, the sequel to Wonder Woman disappointed both audiences and critics alike. The whole thing was so utterly contrived that not even Gal Gadot’s stellar performance could salvage it. The script was too long and meandering, with the movie studio seemingly throwing everything at the wall, hoping that something would stick.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Do you know what the Indiana Jones franchise desperately did not need? Aliens. Yet, that’s what we got for the fourth movie. Harrison Ford picked up his whip 19 years after his last adventure, though he’d have been better off hanging up his iconic hat for good.
American Psycho 2
This movie wasn’t even intended to be a sequel to the original, with studios meddling at the last minute in order to get bums in seats. The cracks are clear throughout the film – it’s lazy re-edit in order to cash in on nostalgia. It remains as a stark warning to filmmakers everywhere – poor writing can never be disguised by forced cameos.
Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The third entry into CS Lewis’ world of Narnia lacked the magic of the first two. Everything was sheathed in a terrible brown filter, while subpar CGI and awkward acting reduced what should’ve been a magical adventure into a soulless slog. Hopefully Netflix are able to do the book justice with their upcoming reboot.
Teen Wolf Too
It’s easy to see why this flick only has a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Replacing the main star in your movie is always a risky move, and one that rarely pays off. In this case, it was a huge miss. Featuring a werewolf-turned-boxer, the film is littered with familiar cliches that fail to strike a chord on any level.
The Rage: Carrie 2
If there’s one movie that didn’t need a sequel, it’s Carrie. Still, Hollywood couldn’t resist getting their claws stuck into the twisted world that Stephen King created, though they failed to recreate even a glimmer of charm found in the original. It appears that its name The Rage was apt, however, as rage is what most audiences felt after wasting their hard-earned cash on the flick.
Jaws 2
This movie’s worst offence is being a blatant ripoff of the original, essentially being the same movie sold through different shots. Uninspired plot aside, the film lacks the high stakes tension of the first, leaving you wanting to jump overboard out of pure boredom.
Titanic II
If you didn’t know that the Titanic has a sequel, it’s probably best to live in ignorance. The 2010 sequel is an insult to the original in every way, with terrible acting, laughable dialogue, and CGI that looks as though it belongs in a PS1 game. All in all, the film is a real sinker.
Scary Movie 5
Even by Scary Movie standards, the fifth movie in the franchise is bad. The horror parody is almost a horror movie in its own right, due to just how terrible it truly is. Low on laughs, it fails to find the sweet spot of spoof and satire, resulting in a hot mess of a movie.
Independence Day: Resurgence
Will Smith dodged a bullet when he refused to star in this unnecessary sequel. The script has absolutely nothing to say, other than treading over ground we’d already covered in the original. Obviously, it lacks the 90s charm of the first, resulting in a rather bland flick that’s a blatant attempt at cashing in on nostalgia.
F9: The Fast Saga
The Furious movies all vary in quality, with each one being, arguably, worse than the last. The ninth installment takes the ridiculousness of the other movies and ups the ante, resulting in constant eye rolls. It feels like a parody of the prior flicks, with the characters becoming mere shells of their former selves.
Space Jam: A New Legacy
Let’s be real – Space Jam didn’t need a sequel. A New Legacy was a poor excuse to print some money, nothing more, nothing less. The cash grab is evident in every aspect of the film, from the wooden acting to the abysmal script. Although the first movie was hardly peak cinema, it was at least enjoyable. This just feels soulless.
S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale
The less that’s said about this flick, the better. While the first quickly became a cult classic, the sequel drastically failed to reach heights of its predecessor. While the world ultimately didn’t end on July 4th, 1995 – after watching this sequel, you almost wish it had.
A Good Day to Die Hard
That terrible title speaks volumes about the quality of the movie. The 2013 action thriller was more of the same – in the worst way possible. The same car chases, the same gun fights, the same action sequences. None of it brings anything new to the table, expecting audiences to lap up the exact same film they’ve seen hundreds of times before.
The Butterfly Effect 2
It’s the butterfly effect of Hollywood – you make a decent movie, and an inevitable subpar sequel will soon follow. While the first had a tense atmosphere and a slew of uncomfortable-yet-gripping scenes, the second lacks any sense of imagination. After choosing to watch this flick, you’ll wish you can go back in time and undo your decision.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
There was absolutely no reason for The Hobbit to be split into three movies – other than greed. While they’re enjoyable fantasy flicks, The Hobbit movies fail to come anywhere close to the heights of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the cracks really beginning to show in the final installment. More movies may equate to more money, but at the cost of quality.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
The CGI in this sequel is some of the worst in Hollywood’s history. Supposedly, the movie wasn’t even allowed to finish its post-production before it was shipped off to theaters, resulting in a product that was essentially unfinished. Once again, corporate greed resulted in a tarnished legacy.
Cars 2
Cars 2 is quite possibly the worst Pixar movie, being nonsensical, frantic, and severely lacking in heart. It was a complete popcorn flick, having little to say amongst its endless action scenes. Thankfully, Cars 3 managed to restore the franchise back to its former glory.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
This movie features plenty of action – though without the sufficient buildup, resulting in low stakes scenes that the audience fail to engage with. The film neglects to expand on the mythos in any significant way, resulting in a worse, yet, somehow more of the same experience we had with the first two flicks.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
The first movie was bad. The second was simply atrocious. Diverting from the source material is a quick way to alienate longtime fans, particularly when these changes are for the worse. Thankfully, a Disney+ series is on the way, supposedly sticking more closely to Rick Riordan’s vision.
Robocop 3
The third film in the Robocop series features a trifecta of issues: bad acting, bad CGI, and a bad script. It’s as though the entire film was written and directed by a team that failed to understand the appeal of the original, resulting in characters that constantly malfunction.
Batman & Robin
Despite featuring some of the most iconic superhero villains of all time, Batman & Robin is, ultimately, pretty terrible. It can be enjoyed as a so-bad-it’s-good kind of movie, but it’s doubtful that’s what the director was going for. If bad one liners and terrible puns are your thing, give it a go. If not, it’s best to avoid this trip to Gotham City.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2
The first Blair Witch movie was a box office smash, making a sequel all but inevitable. Fans lit their pitchforks after seeing the follow up, however, due to its unimaginative plot. Studio execs reportedly interfered throughout the filming process, making demands that ultimately ended up ruining the flick.
The Matrix: Resurrections
The long-awaited fourth Matrix movie left us wishing we’d taken the blue pill, living forevermore in ignorance. With the movie reeking of studio interference, with part of that even being included in the plot, the movie’s frequent bouts of nostalgia simply make you want to watch the first movie, instead.
Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald
Sorry, Potterheads, but the second adventure of Newt Scamander was terrible. The first had a certain charm, but the second failed to forge its own identity. The flick couldn’t decide whether it was about beasts, Grindelwald’s crimes (which we see one of, despite the movie’s title), or Dumbledore’s backstory, resulting in a convoluted mess.
Blues Brothers 2000
This movie is the worst kind of sequel – a film that had the potential to be great, but drops the ball at every opportunity. While the stellar music is still there, the plot leaves much to be desired, featuring rehashed gags and little narrative progression.
Taken 2
Taken 2 gives the viewer whiplash, haphazardly jumping from one nonsensical scene to the next. Alongside some questionable editing, the movie’s premise itself feels entirely too familiar, with cliches and samey plot points reminding the viewer of why the OG is superior in each and every way.
Transformers: The Last Knight
The fifth movie in the Transformers franchise is where the cracks in the series truly begin to show. Somehow, the flick manages to turn a film about shape-shifting, giant robots into a complete snoozefest – the biggest offence when it comes to cinema. Bizarre narrative choices and choppy editing result in a mess of a film that’s better off being forgotten.
Troll 2
Described as “the worst movie ever made”, Troll 2 decides to take everything terrible about filmmaking and stuff into into a feature length flick. Wooden acting paired with a camp plot is a recipe for disaster, creating one of the worst films ever known to man. Worse still, there aren’t even any trolls to be seen!