5 Action Movie Sequels That Totally Sucked

Promotional photo of actor Tom Cruise for the original Top Gun film, released in 1986.

Don't fret. The new Top Gun movie is doing well at the box office and people seem to like it.

There would be no end to a list of any type of sequel that let down the promise of its predecessor, but the action movie genre is particularly good at spawning follow-ups that are as enjoyable as the originals. One of the best of its genre is Aliens, the sequel to the 1980's space monster movie. The sequel to the movie is an improvement over the first one. The Road Warrior is a classic. The Die Hard sequels have been pretty good. I haven't seen Top Gun: Maverick yet, but it's getting a lot of attention.

There are some sequels that do not deserve to survive. We have put together a few of them for you. Some of them are past their prime. Some of them aren't old. All of them are not good.

It is difficult to know where to start with this 2003 movie that is so bad. I have tried many times to get through the film, but I have never been able to do so. I cursed at the television when I came away angry. The original 1995 Bad Boys wasn't a great film, but this one is a reverse masterpiece of bad taste.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are police officers. They are also brothers. The best guys! They call them bad boys for life. They are called "bad boys." Drug traffickers are investigated in Miami, bad things happen, and there are supposed to be laughs. The plot isn't important because there isn't one. Smith and Lawrence waste a lot of time with canned jokes that sound like they came from a computer. The plot descends into an incoherent orgy of violence every 10 to 15 minutes. The sequence is loud and long and hard on the eyes. It is also directed by Michael Bay, and is edited with all the craziness of a coke addicted person.

If there is a hell, I will be forced to watch this movie on repeat with my eyes closed.

The Dirty Harry franchise is one of the best of its kind. The Enforcer, the third part of the series, is still worth a 96 minute run, even though it isn't as good as the first two. The Dead Pool was the last film in the series and involved Harry trying to catch a serial killer who is murdering celebrities. The plot is silly and the script is bad. Eastwood seems to have a lot of fun with it. Liam Neeson plays a scuzzy music video director with a ponytail, which is quite a contrast to his goon-squashing CIA operatives. You can watch Harry shoot someone with a harpoon gun.

Denis Villeneuve directed a number of great thrillers, the best of which was the 2015 movie Sicario, about an FBI agent who gets wrapped up in an investigation involving the cartels and is whisked across the country. The film is a blend of political thrillers, character study, and action films, and it works really well. Day of the Soldado is basically a parody of the original. The film is still enjoyable. I agree. I wonder if it is dumber. Yes, also. Did the film's writer call in the story in order to make more money? You can watch the movie and make your own decision. Don't.

The original 1994 Speed is a great movie and features a bomb strapped to a bus and two people who can't stop or it will explode. It is a stupid and enjoyable premise.

Speed 2 Cruise Control isn't so lucky. The bus has been replaced by a boat while the other has been replaced by a new person. The two of them are on a cruise ship heading to the Caribbean. Gieger, the film's villain, hijacked the boat in order to crash into an oil tanker. That might seem like a fun premise, but it's not. The film won a number of awards and was considered one of the worst films of all time.

Will Smith slapped the shit out of an alien in the movie Independence Day. Smith sits down, lights up a cigar, and says, "Now that's what I call a close encounter." When this movie first came out, it was really cool. I was in kindergarten. I think it is cool. There is a plot about an invasion of Earth by aliens. There is a lot of explosion.

The 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence was the same film as the one that was released 20 years ago. The original cast members like Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman stayed around. The original is not the same. The film is a giant downer even though the visuals are cool. And dull. It's a bad day!

7/7