Sometimes they come back: 5 sequels that were worth waiting for for many years
Rockers Bill and Ted are returning to the big screens. The first film about their adventures was released already in 1989, and two years later a sequel followed, which, however, turned out to be less successful than the original. To see the third part, fans had to wait almost 20 years, and now in 2020 the old heroes are ready to please the audience again.
Kevin Smith's colloquial indie masterpiece about two sellers became a national hit, and its success, it would seem, should only accelerate the production of the sequel. But the sequel to "Clerks", released in 1994, the viewer waited only in 2006. And tonally, this movie was noticeably different from the original, completely chamber, restrained and sometimes even imbued with melancholy.
The main characters - two idlers, Dante and Randall - got a job at a local fast food restaurant, where they still prefer chatter rather than work. Now the subjects of their discussions are homoerotic subtexts in The Lord of the Rings, disputes about morality in The Internet and racism. In the sequel, Kevin Smith as a screenwriter is much more sarcastic, and the plot is more like a soap opera from the TV.
The hit of the Talking Heads group against the background of flashing eateries and shops from the very first minutes states the main problem: a person's dependence on mass philistine culture and the inability to break out of it.
Dante and Randall in the sequel are already heroes of a different, postmodern kind, and their comfort zone is limited not only by the vibe of an apathetic backwater town, but also by the landscape of art, which has turned all life into one big chatter about Darth Vader and Hobbits. An interesting idea, in general, for a seemingly optional sequel.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected and long-awaited sequels of the XXI century, which managed not only to pick up the Ridley Scott canon, but also to develop on its basis an almost three-hour unique author's story.
The first "Blade Runner" appeared on screens in 1982, and fierce discussions immediately unfolded around the film. In 2017, the same discussions were waiting for a continuation: Denis Villeneuve's art blockbuster, uncompromisingly slowly immersing the viewer into the world of the future.
The plot of the search for replicants remained, but the details, including humanistic issues and dynamics, have changed markedly. Because of this approach, however, "Blade Runner 2049" became a victim of unconvincing box office receipts.
Fans of Villeneuve and the franchise certainly appreciated the efforts of the author, but the ordinary viewer, who was expecting a sweeping spectacular Sci-fi, did not get his own. On the other hand, the main thing is that this sequel happened — and moviegoers will remember it for a long time.
It would seem that in this list does the film of the series, which already from the second part began to turn into a typical b-movie? Since its first appearance on the screens, "Rambo" has indeed managed to undergo many strange transformations closely related to the political context.
However, the fourth film, contrary to the established rule "each sequel turns out to be worse than the previous one," returned the franchise to its origins. "Rambo IV" is a movie that is still politicized and does not shy away from its own conservative overtones, but what is more important in it is not the author's statement as such, but how he works with the plasticity of the genre.
The action in the fourth "Rambo" is dirtier, more naturalistic in visual terms, but to some extent absurd in terms of madness. Iron Sly here destroys as many enemies as the Matrix from "Commando" would not eliminate in three sequels.
Stallone sprays blood into the screen and makes his character a free variation of a real American superhero, who is not taken by bullets and who is ready to fight for only one noble idea.
"Rambo IV" could just as well exist on the pages of comics that do not skimp on hyperbole, but the fact that it happened in the cinema format adds to the picture of essential importance. Such a continuation was really worth waiting for since 1988.
"Mad Max" is a long-suffering franchise in itself, and the release of its fourth part, given the circumstances, is perceived as a miracle. Disputes with producers, terrible weather conditions, lack of money - Miller overcame all these hardships to create a truly unique sequel.
The new film of his apocalyptic series not only incorporates the best practices of previous films about Max, but also uses the whole range of action cinema techniques. Roughly speaking, this tape is a concentrated action that uses a modest plot about escape as an excuse for its own existence.
Criticism towards the scenario component of "Mad Max" may be justified (maybe just a little), but this meaningful sacrifice for the sake of an ideal bright form was not in vain.
Rock in its pure cinematic form, evoking emotions not by what is actually being narrated, but by how it is narrated— is a feature that, unfortunately, many modern blockbusters lack. If another such movie also has to wait 30 years, we are quite ready.
For obvious reasons, the most controversial film from the list. Not only did it take Tobe Hooper 12 years to create the sequel, but the audience did not leave a stone unturned from the picture.
To this day, the continuation is considered as unsuccessful as possible, but, frankly, this position requires revision. "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2" is really different, not like the original movie. The dirty aesthetics of the first film is replaced by shameless trash and frenzy, but even in all this it is difficult not to see the insane suspense that migrated from some Italian giallo.
This is generally a movie at the junction of subgenres and moods: on the one hand, an old story about a family of cannibals, a kind of slasher, on the other - a refined grindhouse, whose creator is well aware of the laws of horror and tries to turn all his tricks inside out.
So it turns out that the tape is not so much for the mass audience as for fans of the genre, who are always hungry for changes within the same templates. You can't argue with the fact that the phenomenon is niche, but sometimes the niche gives us hidden gems, where heroes fight on chainsaws and die like flies.