Sequels, Remakes and Mistakes

Given previous trends, it appears 2013 will be yet another year for remakes and sequels. Not that that's a bad thing or anything. Far from it. 

SEQUELS

If the formula for a movie works (the studio invests in it, it does well and it quadruples their cash injection), the studio is more likely to give a budget for a sequel. People like it and want more? Than why not?? Hence the birth of the sequel. 
Previously sequels were made as a way of squeezing some more cash out of fans willing to see it, so production/plot/cast were never really the same as the original. Lately however, this trend has since changed, with the sequel being planned before the release of a film. This shows a confidence in a movie, that studios would not want to get wrong. Because if they're wrong, they're out of pocket. And Hollywood hates not making money.
If I enjoy a movie, I will watch it over and over and over again. For that reason I usually welcome sequels, especially now that studios are willing to invest heavily in them.
The key to a good sequel? Keep it true to it's predecessor. Continuity is essential. Characters and story continue as they were left at the end of the last film, and make changes, but nothing too huge to the dynamics.

Bad Sequels:
Star Wars (The Prequels) - My main problem with this is the fact George Lucas was allowed free reign. Yes, I know Star Wars is HIS creation, but at least with the original trilogy he had a team to tell him "No George, that is a shit idea, do this". These prequels were where Lucas went mad and look what happened! In my opinion, this makes the purchase of LucasFilms by Disney all the more better. More on this in another post. Before I ramble like.
The Butterfly Effect 2 (2006) - Let's take the idea of the original, give it no budget and hope for the best. No. Just no.
Jaws: The Revenge (1987) - The fourth Jaws film. Yes. 4. With an IMDB rating of 2.7, this was a studios attempt at milking it. "Our magnificent horse had died (Jaws 2), now let's flog it (Jaws 3), now let's put it on strings and use it as a puppet (Jaws 4)." If you've a few hours to kill, take a look at the goofs page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093300/trivia?tab=gf
It's THAT long.

Good Sequels:
 Are you comfy? Good. This will take a while.

I'll keep it short.

Toy Story 2 (1999) & 3 (2010) - The original characters brought back and are just as great as ever. In new adventures with new characters. Time and effort went into these. Lots of time and effort.
Aliens (1986) - Continuing where Alien left off, James Cameron took over to write and direct one of the best sequels of all time. He twisted the theme of Alien on it's head and brought the genre to a whole new level.
T2: Judgment Day (1991) - He didn't lie when he said he'd be back. Arnie plays a cyborg sent back in time. In the first Terminator he was sent back to kill. This time he's back to protect. James Cameron proving once again, he takes the idea of a sequel and makes it his own.
Spider-Man 2 (2004) - Tobey returns as Peter Parker. Spider-Man was the origins, Spider-Man 2 was the hero movie. He is Spider-Man now and not only has a supervillian to defeat but also personal problems which make him all the more relatable.
The Dark Knight (2008) - Batman Begins was good. The Dark Knight took it to a whole new level. In terms of being a sequel, Nolan went all out. A gripping plot, superb and perfectly cast characters, not to mention the dissection of what it means to be a hero and a villian. This is the pinicle of not just sequel, but movie itself. One of the few movies that not only lived up to it's hype, but greatly surpassed it. It's final chapter The Dark Knight Rises also gets a mention here. A perfect ending to an amazing trilogy.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - Do yourself a favour. Watch it.

REMAKES

In terms of the remake, studios do this to "revitalise" a franchise of movies that they believe should be given a second chance. Usually to bring it to a new generation. Because you know Spider-Man (2002) was so outdated. The "ok, it worked well for a while, then didn't. Let's redo" take on movies is becoming more and more prominent in cinema. At a worrying rate. 
This year saw the end of Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. Before the release of the final installment, there were already talks of a reboot to the Batman movie franchise. This looks like it may happen as a Warner Bro. movie adaption of The Justice League (a troupe of comic book heros) is set for release in 2015, which stars Batman. Due to the success of The Avengers (a Marvel comic troupe, brought to you by Disney), Warner want this released so they can cash in on the SuperTeam cash cow. Although it is only rumoured a Batman remake is planned, you can be sure it will happen sooner rather than later.
A reboot/remake of a film franchise is not always a bad thing, but it is a very difficult task to pull off. A remake needs to be it's own movie but still contain the charisma of the original film that fans have come to love. This alone in itself is an almost impossible feat to accomplish. I'm of the belief a film needs to be a certain amount of years old before it is updated. The remake needs to have a purpose. This purpose being the social outdatedness of the original film needs rejuvenating.
The remake for the sake of a remake is a concept that is all to familiar, and is one that needs to change.

Bad remakes include: 
Planet Of The Apes (2001) - I like Tim Burton. But not with classic Sci-Fi.
Psycho (1998) - Let's just remake it word-for-word, shot-by-shot colour remake of a classic. No.
Death At A Funeral (2010) - A brilliant British comedy? Let's Americanize that for you.
Fame (2009) & Footloose (2011) - Not even a fan of the originals and I knew this was a bad idea.
I'm not even going to bother with horrors....

Good Remakes:
Casino Royale (2006) - Daniel Craig as Bond. Surpassed the original camp version.
The Amazing Spiderman (2012) - As much as it pains me to admit it, the reboot of Spider-Man was good. I still think it was totally unnecessary, but it was good.
The Fly (1986) - Jeff Goldblum as a slimey bug who creeps out women. He was also good as the lead in this remake of the 1958 Sci-Fi. Wahey! Granted I viewed this before the original, but there is just no comparison.

Tomorrow I'll take a look at 2013 itself and what sequels, prequels and remakes we can expect to see. *cough* Star Trek 2 *cough*