Opinion: Dear Hollywood, stop with the sequels already

Editor s Note This article was written for Mosaic an independent journalism training undertaking for high school students who account and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists That marvelous feeling of being in a dark movie theater sipping a cold soda and blanketed by the aroma of popcorn makes viewers love a movie It s that same whimsical feeling that is destroyed when your favorite movies are followed by bad sequels Sequels can sometimes be good but are generally wastes of time Sequels are like an underperforming younger sibling who can never measure up to the older sibling who is invariably the parents favorite You can guess who is who in Hollywood Original movies come out stronger with fresh new perspectives characters and story lines Bad sequels often downplay or disrespect themes or messages What makes for a good or bad movie sequel Ratings lifetime gross revenue and critical acclaim play key roles in judging a good movie Comparing the original and its follow-up with these criteria is central to judging sequels Here are five of my picks where the originals come out on top The Karate Kid is a timeless classic The newest rendition Karate Kid Legends circulated in May is best when it pushes the buttons of the original Otherwise it merely harps on the nostalgia That s not enough Jurassic Park is considered outstanding and emotionally gripping to this day because it was scientifically logical a real possibility to ponder The blockbuster s sequel trequel and eventual reboot with Chris Pratt became increasingly farfetched and unrealistic For example humongous locusts setting things on fire were thoroughly ridiculous At this point I think the dinosaurs are tired of carrying the movies Space Jam starring the greatest basketball member of all time Michael Jordan became a pop lifestyle staple In the sequel Space Jam A New Legacy with Lebron James insulted the original and would have performed better as a short cute homage video not a -minute film I m a dedicated fan of Marvel s s Iron Man The sequel Iron Man in broke my heart Like my heart the storyline of the second movie was broken and all over the place The movie seemed rushed lowering the villain s impact a prime example of how sequels disappoint excited fans like me In s Wreck-It Ralph where the story follows the character growth of a bad guy turned good Ralph finds himself and the things that truly matter in life The original became a heart-tugging fan favorite But Wreck-It Ralph Breaks the Internet fails entirely to highlight these themes Related Articles Cuts to science grants force San Jose researchers trainee to scramble Making hoops affordable Don t let the duct-taped jerseys fool you Bay Area Sikhs seeking mental physical condition aid battle weakness stigma High-traffic boulevard raises concerns in three South Bay cities Santa Clara cafe combines cats coffee and Korean lifestyle I have to admit selected movie sequels do a great job but still show the same weaknesses like these three Shrek in was more entertaining than the original in With a wider array of characters Shrek delivers a stronger comedic impact But the Shrek title continues to be overplayed Shrek has an anticipated release of December In the same boat as Shrek sits the multibillion-dollar dynasty of Toy Story that began in producing four films with a fifth coming next summer Toy Story is a Pixar classic and a childhood staple for various but like Shrek the sequels become repetitive Majority powerfully Top Gun Maverick the sequel follows the original film that I loved It has the perfect amount of nostalgia paying respect to the original while also branching off with new characters As sequels can carry a tasteful recognition of nostalgia and introduce new characters this does not mean they are invariably necessary When wonderful movies become exploited plots are perfectly tired out just like the Jurassic Park dinosaurs Instead of continuing to create sequels remakes or franchises I ask for new and fresh movies All the time I would like to go back to the magic theater feeling of something new and exciting instead of getting spoon-fed the th Fast and Furious Lauren Uppal is a member of the class of at Del Mar High School in San Jose