What's worse: sequels, remakes, or prequels?

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Lots of people hate movie sequels. Lots of people hate movie remakes. Some people hate movie prequels. Which is worse? Please vote and let me know. Feel free to explain why if you like. Have a nice day.

[Deadend45]

Remakes really stink.

[Cruel Angel]

Remakes. Only rarely do they hit as well or surpass the original.

[Alan T]

Remakes

[Michael11]

Remakes.

[drush9999]

If a film is an absolute classic then a remake almost always sucks. Sometimes it works better like The Thing (1982). I hate prequels and retrospective "origin stories" in general, utterly pointless and lazy. Move forward with sequels.

[russweiss1]

In general, remakes tend to be lesser than the originals. This should be expected as studios don't typically remake crappy movies.

[formula_nebula]

Too many bad remakes.

[SelwynMcGinty]

Prequels are particularly lazy pieces of work - at least with remakes or sequels, there's at least a chance of putting a different twist on the source material.

The storytelling of prequels is almost guaranteed to be a dud. One notable exception is The Godfather Part II, which miraculously pulled off being an engaging prequel & sequel at the same time.

[djzero]

Remakes

[drb999]

It depends. They are all different but probably remakes come out the worst.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by Cruel Angel

Remakes. Only rarely do they hit as well or surpass the original.

If that's the case, wouldn't it make more sense just to re-release the original in theaters?

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by SelwynMcGinty

Prequels are particularly lazy pieces of work - at least with remakes or sequels, there's at least a chance of putting a different twist on the source material.

The storytelling of prequels is almost guaranteed to be a dud. One notable exception is The Godfather Part II, which miraculously pulled off being an engaging prequel & sequel at the same time.

Here's a question I have for you. The events in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" took place before the events of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Does that make "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" a sequel, or a prequel?

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by russweiss1

In general, remakes tend to be lesser than the originals. This should be expected as studios don't typically remake crappy movies.

If they're bad movies, they could still remake them, but just give them different titles and make enough changes that only a small percentage of people connect the two.

[SelwynMcGinty]

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaMaestro

Here's a question I have for you. The events in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" took place before the events of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Does that make "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" a sequel, or a prequel?

Temple of Doom has been identified by its creators as a "standalone prequel", and quite a lousy one, as least to me.

[traths]

Remakes

[Cruel Angel]

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaMaestro

If that's the case, wouldn't it make more sense just to re-release the original in theaters?

The driving force behind a lot of remakes is easy money with lack of risk, and hopes for even more money.

Studio execs want new films, but are usually unwilling to risk a lot of money for new and original content. It is an easier sell to the execs to say they can get the rights to a film that had some success in the past (proven track record), remake it, and hope that 1) it will draw both the old crowd that liked the OG and the younger new crowd and 2) if it actually hits well, it can start a new franchise.

[Jay Mammoth]

Any of the 3 can be great, good or they could suck.

[Eidolon]

A sequel or prequel if it takes a great big dump over canon/continuity, or treats the characters badly. Highlander II, the new Ghostbusters films, or Disney Star Wars for example.
At least in the case of remakes, they're disembodied from the original continuity, so they can be easily ignored regardless of how good or bad they are.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by Eidolon

A sequel or prequel if it takes a great big dump over canon/continuity, or treats the characters badly. Highlander II, the new Ghostbusters films, or Disney Star Wars for example.

Thank you for making a clear distinction between good and bad sequels/prequels. Since you mentioned the Disney versions of Star Wars, I'm going to talk about some bad Disney prequels, followed by some good Disney prequels.

"Maleficent? (2014)-This bad so-called "prequel" felt less like a prequel and more like revisionism and a good excuse to give Angelina Jolie something to do. First Maleficent curses Princess Aurora, and then she changes her mind about the curse and succeeds in awakening Aurora when Prince Phillip fails to do so? A live-action remake of "Sleeping Beauty" would have been an improvement over this.

"Cruella" (2021)-Here's another bad prequel for two big reasons. First off, Cruella was never the motorcycle-riding punk rocker that Craig Gillespie turned her into. Also, the ending completely destroyed any chance of being integrated with the original story by having Cruella send Anita and Roger puppies as gifts. Watching the 1996 live-action remake of "101 Dalmatians" is preferable to this. (Yes, it had its flaws, and the animals should have been talking in the movie, but Glenn Close did an excellent job playing Cruella.) There is one good thing about "Cruella", though. It won the Oscar for Best Costume Design and I agree with that decision 100%.

"Mufasa: The Lion King" (2024)-Now here's a good prequel. It showed how Mufasa started out as an ordinary cub, only to become part of the royal bloodline upon meeting Taka, and it also described how Scar became Mufasa's brother. It can be seamlessly integrated with the original story of "The Lion King".

"Monsters University" (2013)-Another good prequel. It shows that a field trip to the Monsters, Inc. complex got Mike Wazowski interested in becoming a scarer, about what he learned at Monsters University from Dean Hardscrabble (a great performance from Helen Mirren), how he became friends with Sulley despite being rivals initially, and last but not least, how they both ended up working for Monsters, Inc.

Those are my two cents. Have a nice day.