Action Sequels --> Big Budget + Totally Unnecessary = Effective Entertainment
Have you ever gone to the second, third, fourth, fifth installment of a franchise in theaters and just wondered, "why?" I have done this a lot, considering all my reviews on this website (except one) have been sequels. Obviously, the quality varies a lot, but each film does not always work. Honestly, both of these movies below would have been fine as stand-alone features, but everyone craves the expansion of the universe created by that first movie. While many sequels of past have in fact succeeded in trumping the first (but rarely), the following two definitely did not. Still, solidly entertaining - the kinds of films that always fare well with the masses. I mean, not even the filmmakers are expecting to win Oscars with these, so who are we to judge? Here's what I saw this weekend:
At least the animal rights aspect of the plot helped keep the interest from being too repetitive, even if they really hammer it down and end up taking things too far. Without a doubt, the movie achieved its goal, doing little more than continuing the story that continues to generate a large revenue stream to this day.
Jurassic World 2: Fallen Kingdom --> ❤️❤️🖤🖤
I had always thought Jurassic World had just enough of Jurassic Park in it to make the film enjoyable; in a similar sense, this movie has enough of Jurassic Park III in it to make it mediocre. Even the previous film managed to be exciting, but this one offers nothing original on the action front at all. Like they already expect you to know what you’re getting into, so they just let the continually improving special effects carry everything. We even get a couple identical sequences from previous movies (not one but two big T-Rex roars).At least the animal rights aspect of the plot helped keep the interest from being too repetitive, even if they really hammer it down and end up taking things too far. Without a doubt, the movie achieved its goal, doing little more than continuing the story that continues to generate a large revenue stream to this day.
Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado --> 🌕🌕🌗🌑
This one kept my interest a little better, but only because it really is not a sequel. Day of the Soldado is really just a stand-alone film with roles reprised by Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, and honestly, you come out of the movie with the same insight about them as before. Though it does capture the ominous feel of the masterful original movie (albeit amateurishly), there are large holes left by less-than-stellar direction, screenwriting, and not having Emily Blunt to wrestle with the questionable morality of the two leads.
Enough genuine thrills abound, but just barely. The overall plot is largely ridiculous, but nothing the forgiving filmgoer cannot overlook. No one expects it to top the fantastic original, and with that in mind, this film is a success. Entertainment is the key word here, and there is just enough that works to tip it to "good" instead of "bad." Especially those who loved the first: you will probably enjoy more desert shots and wild antics of our two main characters, even if we all know it is not as good as the first.
Enough genuine thrills abound, but just barely. The overall plot is largely ridiculous, but nothing the forgiving filmgoer cannot overlook. No one expects it to top the fantastic original, and with that in mind, this film is a success. Entertainment is the key word here, and there is just enough that works to tip it to "good" instead of "bad." Especially those who loved the first: you will probably enjoy more desert shots and wild antics of our two main characters, even if we all know it is not as good as the first.
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