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It ’s extremely difficult to make a good sequel . It ’s even more hard to make a good prequel . More often than not , prequels are a augury of originative desperation . They often do about when producers or studios desire to keep a hot franchise chug along but have campaign out of tonic idea . To compensate , they opt to go back and tell TV audience what materialize before the story they initially fell in love with . have ’s be true – if that stuff really mattered , it would have been included in the first place .
This is not to say that a respectable prequel does n’t come along occasionally , but cinematic history is litter with bad prequels , though . For better or worse , they seem to be proliferate , too . This summertime alone , we ’ve gottenSolo : A Star Wars Story , which shows us what liveliness was like for Han Solo before meeting Luke Skywalker in a sleazy Tatooine cantina , andThe First Purge , which explain how the whole " all crime is legal for one night a year " concept came into existence . From the flavour of it , prequels wo n’t be snuff it away anytime soon .
There are so many , in fact , that we ’re wager you ’ve completely block about some of them . That ’s why we compiled this list , which curb twenty underwhelming examples of film telling the story before the story , so to speak . In each case , we ’ll state you what the film tried to do and propose up a little perspective on why it fail to make an mental picture . These motion picture have largely blow over from public consciousness for a intellect .
Here are20 Forgettable Prequel Movies Only Superfans Remember .
Marley & Me: The Puppy Years
RememberMarley & Me;the affectionateness - warming – and tear - jerking – celluloid adaptation of John Grogan ’s considerably - sell book ? If so , you might have question at some full point what the arch firedog was like when he was a pup . But frankly , you probably did n’t , because it would be completely irrelevant to the narration .
That did n’t deter 20th Century Fox from releasingMarley & Me : The Puppy Yearsto DVD .
Because it ’s a prequel , stars Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston are nowhere to be found .
In their place , we get much lesser known actors Travis Turner and Sydney Imbeau . Not exactly impressive star superpower there .
The plot , revolving around a dog contest , lack the mettle of the master , which detail the developing bond between a man and his eye tooth . spoilt , in a genuinely bizarre turn , Marley can now speak . Yes , really .
Pan
The fib of Peter Pan has been tell many times in various data format , most famously in Disney ’s 1953 animated film . It ’s a beautiful tale , and Peter is one of the all - time great fictional characters . It ’s highly improbable that anyone ever felt the story was lack because we do n’t understand how he forgather Tinkerbell or determine to fly .
Pandecided to answer those questions , and more , anyway . This origin story excuse everything about Peter Pan that never needed explain . It ’s also a fundamentally unearthly movie . Hugh Jackman plays the vicious sea robber Blackbeard who , at one point , let the cat out of the bag Nirvana ’s " smell out Like Teen Spirit " , despite the story taking place during WWII .
These things deliberate , it ’s no surprise thatPanwas a major box office turkey , clear just $ 35 million in North America , despite a $ 150 million toll tag .
The Scorpion King
In 1999’sThe Mummy Returns , professional wrestler Dwayne " The Rock " Johnson had a supporting role as Mathayus the Scorpion King . The movie was a huge hit , and Johnson proved that he had as much prayer outside the ring as he did inside it . Three long time later , Universal gave him his own film , The Scorpion King , that told the story of how Mathayus rose to office .
Although it did respectably at the box office , the movie was nowhere near the cash machine that the two previousMummypictures had been . Critics pointed their quarter round down , leading to a 41 % approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes .
Interestingly , there is a neat - to - videodisc prequel to this prequel .
The Scorpio King 2 : ascent of a Warriorfocuses on Mathayus as a adolescent avenging his father ’s frustration .
Hannibal Rising
Hannibal Lecter is one of the screen ’s greatest villains . The superb , psychopathic criminal was unforgettably limn by Brian Cox inManhunterand Anthony Hopkins inThe secrecy of the Lambs .
When you have a character as evil as Lecter , the one affair you absolutely should n’t do is attempt to make an interview feel understanding for him . That ’s just what the 2007 prequelHannibal Risingdoes . The pic casts Gaspard Ullliel as Lecter , and it ’s safe to say that he ’s no Cox or Hopkins .
Along the way , youthful Lecter sees his parents perish during WWII . Even worse , some hunger Russian soldier eat his sister when they are ineffective to find food for thought .
The whole point is to tell us how Lecter became a villain . By making his wickedness the answer of tragedies he ’s endured , he becomes much less scarey .
Van Wilder: Freshman Year
The primary joke of the 2002 comedyVan Wilderis that the central fictitious character , act by Ryan Reynolds , is in his seventh year of college because he ’s more contented to party than to grow up . The 2009 prequelVan Wilder : Freshman Yearexploreswhat he must have been like upon first arriving at Coolidge College . In other words , it remove the very thing that ’s supposed to be funny about him .
It does n’t assist matters any that Ryan Reynolds is substitute by Mean Girls ' Jonathan Bennett .
He does n’t exactly have his predecessor ’s crack comic timing or undeniable charisma . Without those things , which helped the original cultivate a cult following , the begrimed humor feels even more gratuitous than it is .
It ’s no wonderVan Wilder : Freshman Yearwent straight to DVD .
The Lion King 1 1/2
Sidekicks are called sidekicks for a understanding . Their job is to show up intermittently , juice up the DOE of a film , and then charge off for a while . Putting them at the center of the show mostly only prove that a little of them goes a foresightful way .
Case in point : The Lion King 1 1/2 . This made - for - video repair Disney feature film state the story of howThe Lion King ’s tantrum - thief – meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa – converge , became friends , and ended up becoming fundamental name in the life of Simba . Since they ’re just sidekicks , their tale is n’t as interesting as Simba ’s , though .
While not perceived as a terrible film , The Lion King 1 1/2certainly made nowhere near the cultural impact that the original did . At best , it ’s viewed as a minor Disney effort .
Texas Chainsaw: The Beginning
Tobe Hooper ’s 1974The Texas Chain date Massacreis a landmark horror moving picture that spawned several sequels , none of which came close to matching its impact within the musical genre . In 2002 , someone get the bright idea to refashion it with Jessica Biel and R. Lee Ermey in the lead roles . Neither critics nor audiences thought it could hold a standard candle to Hooper ’s original .
Nevertheless , the studio , New Line Cinema , was eager to keep its franchise going , so they green - lighted a prequel , Texas Chainsaw Massacre : The commencement . This 2006 slasher is all about how Leatherface became the crazed monsters we all know him to be .
The problem here is that someone like Leatherface should never , ever be explained .
He ’s far scarier when we do n’t know why he stalks . Giving us his backstory makes him less minatory .
Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
Jim Carrey is one of the most talented and distinct comedians of the modern surface area . For that reason , the high-risk thing any movie could possibly do is to cast another histrion in a part that he made renowned . Dumb and Dumberer : When Harry Met Lloydcast Eric Christian Olsen as Lloyd Christmas , and it rifle about as well as you ’d expect .
This prequel show how Lloyd and Harry – now played by Derek Richardson or else of Jeff Daniels – gather as adolescent . Why ? belike it ’s because the studio wanted a follow - up to the smash hitDumb and Dumber , but could n’t get the original sensation to sign on back on .
The sarcasm here is that Carrey and Daniels did finish up bet these fiber again . Their 2014 sequel , Dumb and Dumber To , was likewise pan by critics and audiences alike .
Vacancy 2: The First Cut
In the 2007 chillerVacancy , Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale check into a sleazy motel . They shortly discover video cameras hidden in their elbow room . Through some thrust around , they realize that evil films are made in the rooms , and they might be the next dupe if they are n’t thrifty .
That ’s a fairly eerie premise . The prequelVacancy 2 : The First Cutexists to inform audiences of how this practice begin at the motel .
When you contain and think about it , not knowing is actually far scarier because it make you paranoid about who might be catch you the next clock time you stay in a motel .
The film features a serial malefactor and a misrepresented manager manager who realize they have compatible interests . All of it is cockamamy , which serve only to absent the sting from the franchise ’s core construct .
Cruel Intentions 2
Cruel Intentions , based on the classical French novelLes Liaisons Dangereuses , is one of the best - loved teenager picture of the 1990s . It help catapult Reese Witherspoon , Ryan Phillippe , and Sarah Michelle Gellar to stardom .
In 2001,Cruel Intentions 2was unleashed upon the world . It tells the story of how Kathryn ( now played by the then - unknown Amy Adams ) and Sebastian ( Robin Dunne ) met and begin their share practice of toying with other people .
Cruel Intentions2 really began lifespan as a FOX drama calledManchester Prepthat was believe as a prequel to the hit film . When the net decide against airing it , the three survive episodes were cut together and free as a straight - to - DVD feature article , with some racy R - rated shenanigans thrown in and a unexampled deed of conveyance that more closely splice it to its predecessor .
