Credit: DC / Warner Bros.Who’d have ever thought that Joker: Folie à Deux would turn out to be one of the most awful sequels (and films) of the year? The 2019 film Joker by director Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix as the titular Clown Prince of Gotham was critically praised and grossed over a whopping $1B worldwide.
While no one wanted a sequel–not even Phillips and Phoenix if you recall early interviews–success seemed inevitable. But oh, how wrong we were–Folie à Deux made just $204.8M and was ripped to shreds by audiences and critics.
But, despite being a stinker of a sequel, with many describing it as “a middle finger” to fans of the original and a film that has no plot to justify its existence (even certain actors from the film have now gone on record to slam the sequel), is Joker: Folie à Deux objectively a bad movie, too? Well, yes–it seems almost everyone hates it.
But it did get us thinking: What awful sequels are still pretty good–maybe even great–movies? We’ve hand-picked a bunch of solid examples from the past 25+ years; blockbusters that are perhaps some of the most awful sequels but are solid films when you isolate them from their respective franchises.
Batman & Robin
If you ask almost any Batman fan how they feel about the Joel Schumacher-directed Batman & Robin (1997), which stars George Clooney as the titular Dark Knight and serves as the concluding “four-quel” to the two Tim Burton-directed films, Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992)–with Schumacher’s Val Kilmer-starring Batman Forever (1995) acting as the third entry–they’ll probably look at you as if you’re insanely stupid.
However, while Batman & Robin is indeed absurdly camp, whether it’s Arnie’s cheesy one-liners as Mr. Freeze or the overall tone, there’s no denying that the film is a decent modern reboot of the Adam West stuff from the ’60s.
Going in with that mindset helps, and while it’s a horrible sequel to Burton’s quasi-gothic outings–this one is quasi-futuristic–it’s easy to separate this from those two films. Heck, even from its own predecessor, Batman Forever.
As a film in its own right, there’s plenty to like here. The cyberpunk aesthetics of Gotham City are not all that dissimilar to those of the incredibly popular “Batman: Arkham” video games, and the story between Bruce Wayne/Batman (George Clooney) and an ailing Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Cough) is oddly poignant and moving for such a major cheese-fest.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
There was once a time when Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) was considered the worst thing to have happened to the once-perfect Terminator franchise.
Following up the masterpiece that is Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) is an impossible feat, and the fact that the studio and the filmmakers dared to do so left audiences scratching their heads in utter disbelief. But is the film really that bad? Only when compared to its predecessors.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was widely hated upon its theatrical release back in 2003, but it has since been buried by three other bad installments: Terminator Salvation (2009), Terminator Genisys (2015), and Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), with the latter two being some of the most awful sequels to have graced any blockbuster franchise.
Still, T3‘s problems are there, with the biggest issue being that it feels like a parody of sorts of T2.
But, the explosive threequel feels like a solid effort regardless. Though it’s a pale imitation of Judgment Day and always will be, director Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown) certainly gives it his all.
Kristanna Loken’s female Terminator T-X (AKA Terminatrix) is a decent-enough successor to Robert Patrick’s iconic T-1000, and it’s always nice to see Arnie back in action as the T-800. The film also makes some pretty bold storytelling decisions during its final scenes, which has garnered plenty of respect from Terminator fans over the years.
Jurassic Park III
Jurassic Park III (2001) is one of the weakest entries in the Jurassic franchise–but that isn’t saying much considering everything besides Jurassic Park (1993) and Jurassic World (2015) are often heavily criticized by fans.
Still, one of the most obvious problems about the threequel is how it takes a sharp nosedive in quality. Regardless of all its other glaring issues, this film doesn’t have the visual blockbuster precision of its predecessors and successors.
Nevertheless, Joe Johnston’s film has garnered plenty of newfound appreciation from diehard Jurassic enthusiasts in more recent years–though a rare turnaround for a sequel that was received poorly upon release, it does happen (see Star Wars prequel trilogy).
Despite being a somewhat half-baked, run-of-the-mill actioner whose production was as problematic as Jurassic Park itself, Jurassic Park III is still a hugely fun dino-filled flick.
This roaring summer blockbuster isn’t interested in asking any “big questions” like the other entries–it just wants to offer audiences a leave-your-brain-at-the-door thrill ride filled with exciting new dinosaurs (who doesn’t love Spinosaurus?) and solid action sequences (the Aviary stuff is amazing).
In a franchise that has started to lean into the sci-fi stuff a bit too much (hybrids, locusts, etc.), Jurassic Park III has become a breath of fresh air.
Halloween: Resurrection
Halloween: Resurrection (2002) is considered an abomination to the Halloween franchise by many fans. But we don’t think it’s the worst film in the series–not by a long stretch.
That honor goes to Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), and Rob Zombie’s Halloween (2007). Still, we totally understand why many fans feel that Halloween: Resurrection is one of the most awful sequels ever.
After all, it completely retcons Halloween H20: 20 Years Later‘s incredibly satisfying ending in which Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) decapitates Michael Myers (Chris Durand). It then kills off the iconic franchise “Final Girl” within minutes of the film’s opening.
But if you’re able to look past those two pretty substantial problems (they’re done away with rather swiftly), the odds are that you’ll have a pretty decent time with Halloween: Resurrection.
Sure, it’s cheesy, it’s janky, there’s no plot whatsoever, and the acting is downright atrocious in parts, but the kills aren’t all that bad and Michael Myers himself (Brad Loree) is hardly one of the worst iterations in the franchise, even if he does have painted-on eyebrows and takes a karate-kick beating from world-famous rapper Busta Rhymes (Freddie Harris).
The Predator
Fans were in their element when it was announced that Shane Black, who plays crude jokester Hawkins in the iconic 1987 film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, would be co-writing and directing the fourth film in the popular sci-fi action-horror series.
But while the film grossed $160.5M worldwide against an $88M budget, many fans left the theaters disappointed, largely because The Predator (2018) is mostly a comedy movie. On purpose.
The original 1987 film is a bona fide classic that seamlessly blends action and horror while unleashing one of the most iconic Hollywood villains of all time. Predator 2 (1990) and Predators (2010) naturally upped the ante where the action is concerned, and even expanded upon the Predators’ mythology.
However, the fourth film in the series feels like a bad fever dream–even if it delves pretty deep into the lore fleshed out in previous films.
With all that said, if you’re able to think of The Predator as a standalone movie–which we agree is near impossible considering it’s the fourth film in a major franchise–you can have a ton of fun with it. Yes, it’s too funny (but legitimately funny), the plot is completely nonsensical, and the main Predator is a CGI creation, but this is why popcorn was invented.
Do you agree that these are bad sequels but good films? Let us know in the comments down below!