prequel | The Tea Cerebrations

There are only a few sequels which have managed to be better than the original. The list is rather bigger when we consider the older movies including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but later it turned out that the sequels were just made to make use of the franchise name and earn for money. So, lets see some of those movies which released after 2000 as the interesting sequels. You needn’t agree to this, but you can always respect others’ opinion. Here are those sequels.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier: With the oirigins of the great hero already established in the predecessor, this one develops nicely on what was there in Captain America: The First Avenger, and goes on to bring a thriller which is far ahead of any other Marvel Comics based movie featuring any superhero as the lead character. With Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson around, there is almost nothing that goes wrong with this flick of high quality. This one is not just about Captain America as you will understand; this is also not just a superhero movie, but much above that. [Read the full review here]

Hellboy II: The Golden Army: The second movie outshines the first by using the fantasy atmosphere to go with the demonic horror which is always in the background, waiting to pounce. Visually better looking, and having more of a mixed story, this one has a clear advantage over the original. I liked them both very much, but there are too many epic scenes in this one, which means that it is very difficult not to give this one the advantage. Guillermo del Toro continues making things better, and this one surely needs another sequel. The world is different now from the time this one released, and could go on to become the classic hit.

Avengers: Age of Ultron: I have loved The Avengers, and there is no doubt about that. But this sequel is clearly better, because it has a more thrilling story-line, which is why even without Loki, this works so well. This is how a superhero franchise should evolve, into something more than just blind action, as the movie brings a stronger idea along with adding stronger cast making some nice characters like Quick Sliver and the Scarlet Witch, the latter being the most stunning addition with Elizabeth Olsen joining the team. The action is also more stylish and having more power. Even though I watched this one in a smaller theatre, I felt the superiority. [Read the full review here]

X2: X-Men United: The second movie of the X-Men should undoubtedly be the best, even after so many years with the series standing at X-Men: Days of Future Past. This second entry is my all-time favourite, and the fact that it was followed by the worst X-Men movie ever, only makes its position better. The joining of the mutants is one interesting thing, and there are many others including the addition of Nightcrawler who might be the most interesting and the most admirable character ever in the history of the X-Men franchise. Unfortunately, he was not seen much around after that. It is a surprise consider the scope that the character had.

Thor: The Dark World: The difference between Thor and its sequel is rather very less, but as the former was just an origin story and the latter having more scope, it was easier to exploit the same as far as this movie is concerned. Actually, the use of Dark Elves and their leader Malekith is the highlight of this one, and the fact that most of the action is set not on Earth gives this one the visual advantage. Even when the setting shifts to Earth, there are some very nice scenes of battle. The dark matter called Aether is another thing that adds to the curiosity of the audience. [Read the full review here]

Instead, if we look at the movies which couldn’t do better than the original, there is a long list of them, especially with the number two, like Transporter 2, Insidious Chapter 2. Saw II, Shrek 2, Die Hard 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Blade II, The Chronicles of Riddick, Despicable Me 2, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and others. There are also those movies which come up with the curse of the number three, like Species III, Resident Evil: Extinction, Iron Man III, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and so on. Sequels are unpredictable, but they will make money almost every time!

***The images used in this blog post are from the Official Facebook Pages of these movies.

TeNy

Jupiter Ascending is the latest addition to the long list of science fiction movies in space as it follows the path of Guardians of the Galaxy. It is clear that the critics are biased on this one if we compare the ratings given to this one and a number of similar movies. May be they completely failed to get the point. Unfortunately, the 18+ rating mostly slams the door for it here too, when it could have been a big thing here otherwise with nobody knowing or caring about The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.

They should have thought more about it – this might be one of the biggest mistakes that they have made with a movie which has kept the fans waiting for so long. They should have known the kind of audience to target – those who go for Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, , Hulk, Thor, Superman and such audience. It might be a box-office flop because of the prejudice and the failure of people to catch on to ideas, but there are a few paths which this movie can follow with the story for a sequel.

1. The war between the successors: We are left with members of alien royalty not really able to stand each other as they hope for more conquests. Along with battling for the same worlds, there can also be war for acquiring those planets far away in other galaxies, and with our heroine basically against the idea of harvest, sparks should fly with this one, and the visuals should get the best boost. The action sequences can also be nicely packed with the visuals here. Mila Kunis will have a bigger and a stronger role to play in this one as the Queen of Earth and the rest of her share.

2. The defence against other royalty: Another possibility is the war against a better equipped alien race which can claim for the divided thrones, and in this case, even with hatred against each other, the members of the royal house can unite, but not without leaving chances for some treachery. The common enemy can be ruthless, but the differences remain, testing one’s allegience. Our hero would have a bigger role to play in this one, making those decisions which are beyond the direct control of royalty. There will be huge and better designed space ships, aliens and gadgets with a nice race of royalty entering the action.

3. The return of the master villain [spoilers here]: We know what happened by the end of the movie, and you better don’t read this paragraph if you don’t want to know before watching the flick. But otherwise, there was the supposed end of the biggest antagonist and the owner of Earth who hoped to harvest the planet for the serum that would give him eternal youth. Well, we can’t be sure that he was dead there, and in a movie like this, there is very low chance of people remaining dead. Ask Groot of Guardians of the Galaxy. Even Interstellar had our protagonist not dying even after going through the black hole. Megatron of the Transformers franchise know the best about how to keep coming alive. So, we can have him better here.

4. A background story of royalty: This one can go on without having to go forward with the tale. A prequel telling the original story of the royalty can do this movie a lot good as long as the plot is solid. Mila Kunis can keep her role, this time as the mother, and this origin of the harvest in Earth can have a better and clear explanation. Everybody needs an origin story, and what we have here only works as an origin tale for Jupiter Jones. A lot more goes back in the past, and that can be nicely explored to give this movie more power. It will also be a work of immense beauty on the screen.

Jupiter Ascending could have had better business here with another certificate and more shows. Its sequel or prequel should do better than this one for sure. This was kind of a perfect week for its release considering the fact that there are no big challenges for its genre this time, and most of the theatres choosing The Boy Next Door instead of this is a big shame. People only need movies which brings things too direct like Guardians of the Galaxy or be the pseudo-intellectual like Interstellar, I guess. But if you haven’t watched the visuals of Jupiter Ascending in 3D, you have seen nothing. Check for my review on the same: (https://moviesofthesoul.wordpress.com/2015/02/06/jupiter-ascending)

***All the images used in this blog post are from the official Facebook Page of the movie.

TeNy