Which Movie Sequel Had the Biggest Drop in Quality?

[Eddie Teach]

The Byzantine Empire.

[jimmy olsen]

For me it was the Matrix.

[viper37]

I say Crocodile Dundee.  The original was great, the second was unwatchable.

The second was okayish.  Now, the 3rd one...

[Admiral Yi]

I bitch at a lot of people for making unsubstantiated claims, so what's sauce for the goose.

Tonight was my college kid karaoke night, so I asked a bunch of people if they had seen Animal House.  My follow up for those who answered yes was "do you relate to it."

Two groups gave me a look like I was a crazy homeless person.

The results for those who answered:

Of the guys maybe 13 out of 20 had seen it, of those maybe three said they could relate.

Zero girls out of 10 had seen it.  A few said they had heard of it.

So that's the raw data for "is Animal House a cultural icon."

[Syt]

Theory: it's a lot harder to make a successful comedy sequel than most other genres. Comedy tends to be very much tied to the zeitgeist in which it was made. Sequels are caught between repeating what worked before, but bigger/better. This may work well in e.g. action movies, but a lot of comedy tends to age badly, so repeating something that worked 3 or 5 years ago may end up being a dud for being out of step with the public's taste.

[Duque de Bragança]

If judging by quality, not by success :

First Blood part II/Rambo II.

Otherwise, Highlander II (for both criteria) as BB said.

[The Minsky Moment]

The Byzantine Empire.

I'd go with the Marxist answer and Louis Bonaparte.

[Darth Wagtaros]

For me it was the Matrix.

The Matrix sequels sucked.  I haven't seen the latest one.

[Tonitrus]

Ernest Goes to Camp

[Josquius]

For me it was the Matrix.

The Matrix sequels sucked.  I haven't seen the latest one.

Wouldn't agree The Matrix belongs on this list, its definitely not the top (since Highlander exists).
Certainly PERSONALLY it stands out as the most disappointing sequel. But if you watched them all for the first time today without such built up hype and excitement... Its quite a standard declining sequel staircase of quality.
The second actually seemed it was going somewhere.....it had potential, as stuck up its own arse as it might have been.... But the third fumbled all that for a stupid ending instead.

[Barrister]

I bitch at a lot of people for making unsubstantiated claims, so what's sauce for the goose.

Tonight was my college kid karaoke night, so I asked a bunch of people if they had seen Animal House.  My follow up for those who answered yes was "do you relate to it."

Two groups gave me a look like I was a crazy homeless person.

The results for those who answered:

Of the guys maybe 13 out of 20 had seen it, of those maybe three said they could relate.

Zero girls out of 10 had seen it.  A few said they had heard of it.

So that's the raw data for "is Animal House a cultural icon."

It is a nearly 50 year old movie, so I guess I understand why it's only 13 / 20 for young men.

As for "relate to"... I mean I obviously relate to it because I was in a fraternity, and we held toga parties that were obviously an Animal House rip-off (ours was Oc-TOGA-fest, and combined togas with hallowe'en costumes in late October).  But I don't know if it's a movie you necessarily relate to, so much as you think is funny.

And for being a cultural icon - it's like Citizen Kane.  They're icons because they've been copied, parodied, homaged for decades.  Animal House was the direct inspiration for countless campus comedies,: Revenge of the Nerds, Back to School, Van Wilder, Old School...

Even if you've never seen Animal House, you'll find it familiar.

[Oexmelin]

Except that there is now a *huge* discrepancy between this image shaped by Animal House and its long-lasting impact, and the reality of "the College Experience" today in the US. The rift between what their parents told them (who, themselves are approaching the age of not having really experienced it) and what they see is gigantic. It might as well be Charlie Chaplin's Gold Rush for these kids.

[Sheilbh]

And for being a cultural icon - it's like Citizen Kane.  They're icons because they've been copied, parodied, homaged for decades.  Animal House was the direct inspiration for countless campus comedies,: Revenge of the Nerds, Back to School, Van Wilder, Old School...

Yeah - I've not seen any of those. I don't know why because I love US high school films but campus comedies/college experience always seems a bit more distant. Not sure how you'd put it in the US but they always seem a bit laddish in a way I'm not a massive fan of personally.

And that's a type of film I generally avoid actually - anything too laddish.

[Syt]

Inspired by this I had a look at various "worst sequel" lists. I didn't remember that there was a Basic Instinct II

[garbon]

Inspired by this I had a look at various "worst sequel" lists. I didn't remember that there was a Basic Instinct II

The one I listed!