Someone Asked Folks On The Internet To Share What Movie Franchises, In Their Opinion, Should’ve Stopped At The 2nd Part And These Are 30 Of Their Best Answers
If a movie is successful, then it is almost certain that the movie creators will want to make a sequel. But sometimes the creators don’t really know where to stop and keep making more parts if there’s no story left to tell. People often say that the sequels are never as good as the first movie, but Reddit user u/karma_hit_my_dogma wanted to know what movies actually had a good second part but should have stopped there.
The thread was upvoted 47k times and 29k people came to share their opinions. Redditors came to a consensus that Home Alone is the franchise that shouldn’t have been continued after the second movie with 28k people upvoting this comment.
What movies do you think were best left with two parts and do you agree with any of the submissions in this list? Tell us your opinions in the comments and if you find a submission you agree with, don’t forget to upvote it!
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Home Alone.
How many times can you forget a child at home after the first time and all the drama and judgement that came with it
I did like the 3rd one, but it shouldn’t have been part of the franchise
You can't recreate the same humor without the original actors. I'd rather re-watch the originals every year.
The Mummy. The first two focused on ancient Egyptian history & mythology; number 3 suddenly takes place in Asia? Huh?!
You could tell they had to work too hard to make it work from how long it took to introduce us to the new setting.
The cherry on top of that s*** cake was the absence of one Rachel Weiss. Her absence was felt. Don't get me wrong, Brendon Frasier did great; I blame the writers/ producers/ director. I loved them in the first two! They were so good, spooky, & full of great classic action & comedy; my fav Brandon Frasier movies.
I think Rachel had a scheduling conflict with another movie?
Definitely wasn't the same. I liked it well enough but it really kind of sucked.
Load More Replies...Watched the whole trilogy recently and, clearly, what kills the third movie is the absence of Rachel Weiss. Not that Maria Bello is a bad actress. But she just can't match Weiss's performance. The fact that Bello fakes a British accent makes it even worse. So yeah, the main star of the first movies was Weiss.
They could make another 45 mummy movies for all I care. As long as Brendan is in it I'll watch it no matter how ridiculous. Dirty dancing the mummy edition? Will it feature Brendan? Sure, why not. The mummy reloaded? Brendan? Yes, please. The mummy 007. Brendan? The world needs more Brendan Fraser movies!
to b fair the egyptians werent the only ones to use mummification. i actually liked the 3rd it showed that egypt wasnt the only ones to use mummification. yes asia did it differently but it was still mummification. i honestly wish they kept going doing different cultures wouldve been actually educational i took alot of ancient history and mythology classes in college and the mummy movies were always spot on with the facts. it may just b me but im a ancient history and mythology nerd so i wouldve loved to see where else in the world they went.
Rachel is the only Evy... Not to discredit the other actress, it is just not the same.
Unpopular opinion: The Matrix. Honestly maybe even after 1.
I think they could have taken the 2nd and 3rd movie and made them into one movie. Theres several moments like the zion scene where nothing happens and it drags on.
I totally agree with you. If by the "Zion scene" you mean that absurd rave and bad attempt at a sex scene, you're absolutely right.
Load More Replies...Not unpopular at all, the second one got silly and the third was just absurd. The first one was so good they should have taken the time to make a decent sequel, no matter how long that took, or not bothered at all.
The Matrix should have been stand alone. IMO only, they just did nothing of interest with that amazing story beginning....
Shrek. There was just no way to beat Shrek 2.
Same here. I watched the first two movies but had no interest in the third one.
Load More Replies...I agree but I would only watch 4 movies up until I was like 5 all of the Sherks and Tangled
That pic made me crack up hahahahahaha lol shreks face HAHHAWHAWHAW HAHA
Preemptively adding Frozen to this list, because I know Disney too well.
Hold up! Frozen 2 was amazing! Just as good if not better than the first. This doesn't belong here! Right, Samantha?
Can't wait for Frozen 33 where due to Climate Change it has to be filmed in the Deserts of Greenland!!
Terminator
Are you trolling? There are six movies and a TV show.
Load More Replies...Yeah the first two- the second one was just as good as the first one...it had that terminator that was liquid metal that could turn into any object! And the rest of them were worse than a sucky B movie.....( no hard feelings to anyone that disagrees)
Load More Replies...After James Cameron stopped writing and directing, that was it. The last one undid what we had been told since the first movie, that John Connor would lead the resistance against Skynet.
The Fast and the Furious franchise.
I mean three was technically a spin off that was alright and then it got even more silly with 4 and so on.
But those first ones were great fun in there time and the first is actually quite a good movie and plot.
Yeah with flying tanks? Or was that already done? I've watched only trailers to lmao.
Load More Replies...Fast and Furious is like AC/DC. If you like one, you like them all. Every AC/DC song sounds like AC/DC, every FNF is like every other one because it works. If you don't like it, don't watch it. ( I've only seen 4 of them.)
The Addams Family. Family Values was great. The third one with almost none of the original cast? We don't talk about that one...
I love Tim Curry, hate the idea that there was a third Adams Family movie that did not star Raul Julia.
I haven't seen the third one, didn't even know there was one. Is that Tim Curry pictured as Gomez?
Also, the animated series (The new one) I mean it's not the worst thing ever, I just feel that it doesn't have the toutch that the original did.
I liked the recent animated film though, they got the Addams family feel just about right. I think allot of people discounted it without even giving it a try.
Load More Replies...I don't think of Adams Family Reunion as a sequel to Adams Family Values. It works as its own film, although it pales in comparison to the other two.
Oh, hey! The Tim Curries! He makes everything alright with that laugh.
I didn't know there was a third once, only an animated one which is getting a sequel 😭 the a undated one was just AWFUL
The Hangover
As Barak Obama said in Between Two Ferns, running for a third term just doesn't make sense, like Hangover 3.
That's witty, but I thought it was forbidden by law to run for a 3rd, if you already won 2 times, no? That's how it works in many countries in the world.
Load More Replies...I could see it happening once but three times means you have a problem.
Jaws.
Jaws 3D? The first time I saw a 3D movie and shat my pants in a cinema
Just gonna be honest, no shark movies need sequels at all, none of them
The whole "shark chasing us all over the ocean" thing would have been laughable but they took themselves so seriously.
Taken.
Taken - Decent enough movie. Reminds me of a simpler time when action movies were pretty strait forward and don't need to be rewatched to be fully understood. That infamous phone scene is pretty iconic.
Taken II - Ok, not bad. Same recipe, different movie. Fine. Good enough. Good Friday night movie when you don't want to spend to much effort following.
Taken 3 - Why? Why would anyone do this?
taken imo is a good movie but seriously taken 3? head out of the exit or go on another trip to find ur daughter
Taken 4: After rescuing his daughter and his ex-wife, Bryan Mills goes on a spiritual journey, to find himself.
if there are sequels to this movie, you have to ask: is he really that good at his job?
what is taken about, I haven't seen it before but I've heard of it and it sounds good
Me too! I love to fire one up whenever my brain needs a bit of downtime. Just chilling and enjoying. Taken are the best films for that imo.
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The Night at the Museum.
The second one is one of my favourite films! I'm so sad other people here didn't like it as much as we did in my household :(
Night at the museum is the best movie siries ever
Load More Replies...BEST MOVIE EVER IT HAS TINY GAYS AND POC PEOPLE PLAYING POC CHARACTERS
Beethoven, replacing the entire cast for films 3-5 really didn't work. Even the premise - that Beethoven's family would have ever left him with another family - didn't make any sense.
Karate Kid
When i first heard about these series I was like oh no why? I really thought they will ruin the franchise and without pat moritta i thought it was pointless!! But i think is one of the most successful sequels I've ever seen! I hope Netflix won't ruin it with too many seasons!
Load More Replies...3 was shoehorned into the franchise, but wasn't a terrible film. Just didn't fit as a sequel.
I don't even consider the part with Hillary swank a karate kid movie.... I'm trying to forget it existed
Load More Replies...wdym i love everything about the karate kid franchise, apart from The Next Karate Kid tho that was trash
Yes, but the Kobra Kai series is good. It shows a very different perspective on the whole franchise.
Robocop. I loved the first 2, but the third was garbage.
I also didn't like the remake.
The remake was pointless, almost exactly the same movie, just with less tongue in cheek humour.
Robocop is a masterpiece, there was no need for sequels and less for a remake
The original is a classic - but everything that has come after it has been swill. This movie called for a sequel, but it should have focused on Robo/Murphy getting more and more of a handle on his humanity.
True true, you can say 1&2 is like a cult classic, if you’re gonna make a new remake/ reboot, it better be good
Rococop 2 was garbage. A hippie drug dealer's brain gets made into the next Robocop, a foul-mouthed nine-year old kid becomes the next leader of the drug empire. The first movie stretched reality, but the basic cops/robbers good guys vs the bad made it an enjoyable watch. The second one was some kind of fantasy crap.
The Land Before Time!
8 year old me strongly disagrees, I couldn't get enough Land Before Time movies
WRONG WRONG WRONG. These movies were my childhood. The sing along songs were fantastic. Can still remember them to this day. 'it's very big, big, big, big water' 'friends for dinner, I just wanna have friends for dinner' 'out of the egg appeared the leg, of the lone dinosaur. DINOSAUUUUURRR'
I'll sing part of that egg thief song when my mom steals a bite of the egg she makes for the dog lol
Load More Replies...Kids are still whispering 'eggs, dear brother, eggs' at the breakfast table - 30 years later...
Ice Age, probably could have stopped at 1.
Eh, i actually enjoyed all of them. It probably helped that my kids like them all as well.
The first took place in Ice Age, with Neandertalers too. Can't remember the 2nd... But the 3rd? Dinosaurs??? REALLY???
Ninja turtles. Secret of the ooze was fun then they got too serious in 3
I tried to watch the reboots but Megan fox has the acting ability of a potato and I had to literally turn it off after 15 minutes
Did you see the lil documentary on Netflix about the creators? Lots of info I didn’t even know, but yes the first 2 was best.
Load More Replies...My cousin made me watch them when i was 5 on the WHS. He still has them 😁 he was really into Ninja turtles i was into Totally spies and shaman king at the time
I liked 1&2, 3 I agree was too much. I haven’t even bothered with the remakes.
The lion king!
All 3 are good. But the new version of the first film was TOTALLY UNNECESSARY!!!
I enjoyed lion king 1.5 a lot more than I thought I would. All the funny reasons why things happened like the animals bowing XD a good watch with my kid
I like the second one, it's a story of it's own and has some memorable songs in it
Yes, I liked it, too. It wasn't as well-done, sadly, as the first, but I liked the story overall.
Load More Replies...Couldn't agree more. I only saw one of the sequels Lion King 1and a half. Absolutely dreadful. I should have known better than to watch it.
POV: You are looking for people saying "Sam Raimi's Spider-man"
Nope Nope Nope... Tobey maguire will always be the one for me... but ok everyone has a different opinion🙂
Load More Replies...If this is the Spider-Man that that poor bloke died in, when he was filming. Well my son who is or might as well be Spider-Man he knows that much about him says this was brilliant
The sequel is not even out but Boss Baby.
it should've ended at the first one tbh what more can they add to the story?
Just the previews for this reminded me of those Bugs Bunny episodes with the dwarf gangster. Better story in those.
Amusingly enough, that Bugs Bunny cartoon was the inspiration for the movie “Little Man.”
Load More Replies...Yes but think about how many people he's supporting...if you're the breadwinner for 2 to 3 different families (your own young family plus your adult kids and their families) that are all probably used to a very high standard of living...he's lucky he's not working the street corner.
Load More Replies...WAIT HEY I LOVED THAT MOVIE I REALLY WANNA SEE IT AGAIN AND WATCH BOSS BABY 2! “ I’m in the family business! And YOU BOOMERS are working for ME now! So why don’t you BOTH stuff it?”
Pitch perfect
The first one was cute. I loved Kendrick and the acapella arrangements. The second started relying way too much on low brow and often borderline offensive humor. By the time the third one came out, I really had no desire to watch it.
This is just my opinion, but I liked all of the pitch perfect movies. The 2nd one wasn’t as good as the 1st and 3rd, but I still liked it. Feel free to downvote, but it’s just what I think.
I loved them all. I like them because they get me out of my head.
Load More Replies...Hated the second but the first and the last were nice :) (a little preference with the last one especially regarding the songs)
If the pitch was so perfect, there was no need for more than one
I loved the first two, the third one was absolute trash, and I hate the fact that fat Amy was wearing a MAGA hat, i really like her character so it was almost insulting me the way they portrayed her in the third one
The Mighty Ducks.
D2 was sooo good, but 3 was just nowhere near the same level.
Poltergeist
Sure probably after 1, the second had moments, but after that it became a giant mess and Heather O' Rourke died.
She's got a Speak n Spell! Reminds me of my childhood in the '80s. The first movie traumatized me as a child - didn't make it all the way through. I don't know about the rest.
they did well finding a small girl that acted like a creepy grandmother
to b fair this, the conjuring and a few others were based off of true stories and unless ud want to watch like a 10 hour movie it was kinda needed
Expendables cause they made 3 PG 13 and not rated R which really affected it all.
I do agree that the change in rating affects the franchise. However, there are some other commonly contested opinions on this film series, such as the repetitive pattern of the plot which seems to be present in all 3 movies. But, let's not forget that movies like these are built for a selective audience. The whole gist of the film series is to watch muscle men fire guns and blow things up, rather than the plot, which is the true essence of this film franchise. It's a classic example of taking something for what it is, and not getting caught up in the details, and the hidden 'deeper meaning'.
I loved all 3. they are crap, they are over the top, they are cringe in places, but somehow they scratch an itch and it clearly shows these guys don't take themselves too seriously. They are what they are, retired 90s action movie actors coming back for a last round of fun. Hell, I grew up watching these guys' movies, I literally had zero expectaiotns from them and I still find them entertaining.
Yes, all three are about watching great action stars from the 80s and 90s and eating popcorn and enjoying yourself. Nothing more :)
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Tyler Perry's Madea franchise.
There are currently 11 movies, with another one coming out next year.
Maybe if he didn't recycle his jokes but other than that, I love watching a new Madea lol
They're pretty big in the US. But only within a very particular demographic.
Load More Replies...I don't know why people don't like these movies. I personally love he franchise and think these movies are so funny. If you haven't seen his movie Boo 2 you should watch it. It is my favorite. The first time I saw it I couldn't stop laughing.
I bet every person who commenting is white of course y’all don’t like nun with flavor
Lol Cinderella. 2 was okay. 3 was... a twist.
That's because they were both direct to DVD. While 2 is basically 3 different stories smushed together, I've heard that 3 is actually quite decent.
Load More Replies...Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time is actually really interesting. I haven't seen it in forever.
F YOU RHE SECOND WAS AWFUL BUT CINDERELLA THREEBIS MY LIFE
Me and my best friends watched these and Whitney Houston's Cinderella and Cinderella was ruined for me
Alien
"Get away from her you BITCH!" is still one of the all time best movie lines tho
I actually liked Aliens better than the original, but yes both were great.
I'll have to disagree. With the exception of some of the scenes that used stop-motion puppetry, Alien3 was a good movie. People bash it because it presented a more realistic ending than most movies - the good guys don't always win and the hero more often than not doesn't make it out alive. But it should have stopped here. A4 is complete s**t, and while cinematically beautiful, Prometheus basically f****d up the entire mythos by making the Engineers out to be nothing more than humans related to Andre the Giant. Covenant was an obvious attempt at a course correction, but it was to little to late.
Being that bored during Lockdown, I was obsessively looking for all cutting-room floor scenes and story board ideas for the movies I like a lot (omg....go watch what a psychopath Niander Wallace in short Nexus Dawn Blade Runner 2036 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgsS3nhRRzQ) There were a lot of things filmed and/or story done on the Engineers that didn't make the movie. It's a shame because they were fleshed out, as well as more dialogue with David. I think the best realization was that David was a psychopath and that proves the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The 1st Alien was great, I think, because it went back to that old HItchcock -ian tension and not knowing what was going to happen instead of just nonstop guts and blood . I thought A3 was interminable only because story lines that rest on some Bad Ass Bitch's maternal instinct are insulting, as if a Bad Ass Bitch couldn't be maternal so there's a "quicky twist" Plus that kid screaming in High C the whole time
Load More Replies...The 2nd was the best imo. But it was more of a science fiction action film than horror :D
So not true. In the last flick, Sigourney Weaver was a total "Killer Queen".
Psycho. I think 2 was a bad idea myself, but it happened and having “what happens to Norman later on” was a fun thing to explore, but 3 and 4 were totally unnecessary and I’m surprised Anthony Perkins signed on.
I just saw the original one last week and also felt that nothing else was needed afterwards.
Agreed. Bates Motel was the only good thing to come after the nerve-jangling original.
Load More Replies...The series with Freddie Hightower and Vera Farminga was really great. Took a few to get into it but it was such a great, slow descent into why Norman was such a nutcase. And Mommy, too, but wow, was she a babe.
Psycho 4: The Beginning with Olivia Hussey as Mrs. Bates was awesome. The rest of them are crap.
Superman with Christopher R
i loved the 3rd with richard pryor. i was so scared of the metallic lady
No! The only bad thing about any of them was the whole 'changing the rotation of the world to go back in time bit'! Come to think of it, that cyborg bit at the end of III was a bit off too.
I don't understand why so many people can't comprehend that whole "turning back the world" scene. He didn't change the rotation of the Earth - he flew around it faster than light, and the rotation was shown on-screen to indicate he was going back in time, and then forward again. Yes, perhaps it could have been done differently/better by today's standards, but this was 1978, and I think it was an incredible, groundbreaking movie.
Load More Replies...he may be called Superman, but he still doesn't know how to dress properly. Who puts their underpants on top of their trousers?!
Hotel Transylvania
I personally thought they got better, can't wait to watch the fourth
The whole thing of the first two movies is that there's only one great love in life. The third movie completely ruins that by making Dracula meet his second love. And it's cringe.
Load More Replies...This one really should have stopped at either 2 or even 3. I don't know why there's a fourth one coming out.
The fourth one is going to be the last one, from what I've heard.
Load More Replies...I haven't seen 3 yet. I'm waiting until Christmas. looking forward to it though!
Probably Jeepers Creepers. I was super excited to see a third installment planned and then released after so many years but tbh I was really disappointed. They should have just picked up where the second one left off and maybe implemented flash backs to explain some things. I feel like they tried too hard to give that monster an origin story, the mystery was part of what I loved about the first two.
Fun fact: Jeepers creepers based on actual Murder, who killed his family
Load More Replies...Jeepers, creepers, where'd you get those peepers. Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those eyes.
The Omen
The Omen was originally written as a singular story telling the rise of the antichrist from birth to judgement day. When making the screenplay they decided they were going to only make one movie and to focus only on the infant child aspect. Following the success of the film they decided to make another but because of the changes they had made they couldn't go with the original plot and had to change it. Personally I think they made a good recovery. 4 was a remake of 1 so doesn't really count.
I've only seen the first one and have absolutely no wish to see any more.
Airbud
I agree. Liked the first two but after that they just went downhill. Especially the Buddies movies.
i actually liked the air bud series however they couldve done without air buddies. they shouldve stopped with air bud. 1 air buddies is ok bc it would make sense but a whole series of air buddies cute but eh
Free Willy, 1 was great, 2 was like ok they caught him again, but 3 was absolutely horrendous, for Willy to be caught on a safari in Africa has to one of the worst story lines ever.
What drugs were they on the pitch meeting had to be Free W***y but they go on safari. HOw would this happen? Well there are rivers. Ok I'll cut you a check.
Rambo
Yeah, that 2008 Rambo was damn good. Violent as hell too.
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Despicable Me.
1 and 2 go together 3 just goes off the rails but it was in joyable
They weren’t bad. You just don’t have the same feel as you had in the first one.
Hellraiser
I looked 1 & 2... I was a teenager when I watched them and they really creeped me out, but then all the rest were just pants
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The Godfather
Godfather Part III is nowhere near as respected as the first two though.
Load More Replies...This is one of the rare occasions where the 2nd part is even better than the 1st part (which was a masterpiece). The 3rd part is indeed weaker than the first two, but it is still a very good film. Just not as good as the first two.
star wars, terminator, lotr, alien, indiana jones templedoom, in all good trilogys it seems that 2 is better than 1 (to me). maybe that's the key to having a good trilogy over "a good start but then they sold out"
Load More Replies...Nope, this was a good trilogy the rise and fall of Michael Corleone. While the third is not as good as the first 2, it is still a good, even with Sofia Coppola's wooden acting.
Police Academy should be on this list. Too many films there and they got worse with each one. The first 2 or 3 were so funny though.
I scrolled down to say this. How on earth have these been left off the list?
Load More Replies...But one and three were good, I didn't like the second one so much though
Load More Replies...They need to do one on “shouldn’t have been remade, original is better”
Psycho (I mean, the movie, I'm not calling you names or anything)
Load More Replies...I love Bruce Willis, but Die Hard should have stopped after the first one, but my hubs says after the third one. Legally Blonde. First movie was fun. Second just soggy and should never have been made. Princess Diaries too. Anne Hathaway is too good to waste on a forced script.
The filmmaking styles in Die Hard were rather different between 1/2 and the third one. Personally I could have done without the second one, 1 and 3 were great.
Load More Replies...Crocodile Dundee. Numbers 1 & 2 are good and franchise should have stopped there
Never Ending Story isn't on the list. 1st movie, 80s classic, 2nd movie lackluster follow up that continues events from the book by Michael Ende but the 3rd is an absolute farce to it all. My only recommendation for it would be to see a young Jack Black playing a high school bully.
I agree. Never watched the other two movies. But the first one like a hundred times. :)
Load More Replies...This one maybe should stop even before the first movie😅
Load More Replies...In surprised MIB wasn't on there bc they made four of them. The first was good the second was forgettable, the third sucked and the fourth was ok but didn't need to happen.
Three was grim, two unnecessary, but we loved Resurgence.
Load More Replies...The Crow. First one was perfect. Second was mediocre. Anything after that was garbage.
Police Academy should be on this list. Too many films there and they got worse with each one. The first 2 or 3 were so funny though.
I scrolled down to say this. How on earth have these been left off the list?
Load More Replies...But one and three were good, I didn't like the second one so much though
Load More Replies...They need to do one on “shouldn’t have been remade, original is better”
Psycho (I mean, the movie, I'm not calling you names or anything)
Load More Replies...I love Bruce Willis, but Die Hard should have stopped after the first one, but my hubs says after the third one. Legally Blonde. First movie was fun. Second just soggy and should never have been made. Princess Diaries too. Anne Hathaway is too good to waste on a forced script.
The filmmaking styles in Die Hard were rather different between 1/2 and the third one. Personally I could have done without the second one, 1 and 3 were great.
Load More Replies...Crocodile Dundee. Numbers 1 & 2 are good and franchise should have stopped there
Never Ending Story isn't on the list. 1st movie, 80s classic, 2nd movie lackluster follow up that continues events from the book by Michael Ende but the 3rd is an absolute farce to it all. My only recommendation for it would be to see a young Jack Black playing a high school bully.
I agree. Never watched the other two movies. But the first one like a hundred times. :)
Load More Replies...This one maybe should stop even before the first movie😅
Load More Replies...In surprised MIB wasn't on there bc they made four of them. The first was good the second was forgettable, the third sucked and the fourth was ok but didn't need to happen.
Three was grim, two unnecessary, but we loved Resurgence.
Load More Replies...The Crow. First one was perfect. Second was mediocre. Anything after that was garbage.
