"Today on the SuperStation, ROCKY marathon!"
Oh boy! I love these movies! I immediately change into pajama pants and a t-shirt and strap myself in for the non-stop pugilistic saga of Rocky Balboa. Let the games begin. Rocky I. I scream "Adrian!" aloud as tears flow over the Italian Stallion's bittersweet loss. Rocky II. Sweet retribution! Take that Apollo! HA! HA! Rocky III. The academy robbed you that year Mr.T. Rocky wins again. Yup. Rocky IV. Gigantic, scientifically enhanced Russian versus little Italian man. Rocky wins the Cold War. Wow, didn't see that one coming. Rocky V. I almost forgot they made this one and let me tell you, I wish I had. As the credits rolled, I began to wonder why did they have to bastardize such a good movie with such horrible sequels. I mean Rocky I and Rocky II were great. Rocky III didn't have to be made, but how can you not love a movie that has Mr.T and Hulk Hogan in it? But Rocky IV and Rocky V? Yuck. It's a crime that has been committed many, many times. We have seen it numerous times over and there doesn't seem to be any signs of it abating. It is the curse of the sequel.
I'm going to list some examples.
Escape From New York - Awesome. Escape >From L.A.
- Crap.
Cannonball Run - Hilarious. Cannonball Run II - Garbage
Batman I & II - Good Stuff. Batman III & IV - My eyes are bleeding.
Jaws - Whoa Boy! Jaws II, 3-D & IV - Leave that friggin' fish alone!
American Werewolf In London - Excellent. American Werewolf in Paris -
Who cares?
Superman I, II, & III - I believe a man can fly. Superman IV - Get
me some Kryptonite.
It's a short list and I'm sure there are many others. But why can't Hollywood let sleeping dogs lie? You've made a good movie, you made some money, leave it alone! It's a real crapshoot when making a sequel, you'll either be making another cinematic gem to add to the series or the biggest load of crap to ever hit the screen. Know when to stop. I mean how many Lethal Weapon movies have they made thus far? 18? Look what happened to the Godfather series. 1 and 2 were unbelievable. Then we had fifteen years to sit back and marvel at these masterpieces of cinema until Coppola got an itch in his pants to make it a trilogy and look what happened. Movie studios have got to learn when to stop going to the well before it's too late. Make a good movie, sit back on your laurels and move on. Now if you will excuse me I've got to check out all the internet buzz on "Titanic 2 - The Ship Strikes Back!"
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