The worst numbers 2 in the history of cinema

Before the enormous disappointment of Joker: Folie à deux, many sequels to beloved hits, cult films, even masterpieces, gave rise to enormous disappointments. We have listed the worst second parts of the 7th art.

It is always harder to confirm success. Joker: Folie à deux is proof of this, this week in cinemas. Without a doubt one of the most dreary and disappointing sequels of the century. But before this total failure, other sequels marked the history of the 7th art in the worst way. Second parts which did not succeed in tickling the ankle of their illustrious predecessor. Anthology – in alphabetical order – of these forgettable or forgotten “Numbers 2”.

Basic Instinct 2by Michael Caton-Jones (2006)

We had to wait almost 15 years… But Hollywood has indeed succeeded in bringing the poisonous Catherine Tramell back to the screen. She now lives in London and finds herself making a psychoanalyst dance, who is trying to guess if she is the murderer of her footballer fiancé. After his pas de deux with Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone sets the table again in this thriller which aims to be sexy but veers into absurd vulgarity. Without the key Paul Verhoevennot involved in the project, Catherine goes from exquisite killer to laughable vamp. The noir thriller turns into unintentional comedy. Less than 40 million dollars in revenue… It hurts like an ice pick in the heart!

Highlander, the returnby Russell Mulcahy (1991)

A textbook case. Absurd and unworthy encore film, this second part ofHighlander tramples on everything that made the first one interesting. Connor MacLeod has become mortal and an eminent scientist (???) who develops a giant shield (???) to protect humanity from the disappearance of the ozone layer. All this makes no sense, the myth is rewritten from A to Z, Christopher Lambert is lost and when immortal aliens (???) show up, the cup is definitely full. Big advantage: it almost becomes hilarious in the second degree.

Independence Day: Resurgence, from Roland Emmerich (2016)

Twenty years after the incredible success ofIndependence Daythe director Roland Emmerich set the table again but without Will Smith to lead the battle. Not much to say about the SF imagery of the film, quite impeccable, but no character (especially the new ones) manages to exist in this simplistic repetition. Completely incoherent, the scenario goes in all directions and the rare good ideas do not survive. A tired blockbuster, which only has pyrotechnics in its sights. Much ado for nothing.

Iron Man 2by Jon Favreau (2010)

There have been over thirty films in the Marvel Universe, and this one is widely considered – rightly so – to be the worst. However, unlike many sequels on this list, Tony Stark's return to the cinema was made with the same cast of stars (Robert Downey Jr. in mind), the same director, the same producers… So how were we able to go from a carefully crafted blockbuster like Iron Mancapable of being the starting point for larger universes in the history of cinema, at this Iron Man 2 totally tasteless? Favreau abandoned the introspective discovery of the first part, to move into industrial mode. He multiplies the villains, the intrigues, the fights, ad nauseam. A big, soulless and vulgar Marvel.

The Fly 2by Chris Walas (1989)

If The Fly is a masterpiece of SF, its sequel does not box in the same category. Chris Walaswho had done the makeup for the first film, finds himself promoted to director and the only member of the cast to return is John Getz. The cursed actor Eric Stoltz (fired 4 years earlier from Back to the future after three weeks of filming) plays the leading role, that of Veronica Quaife's son (Geena Davis) and Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum), who will soon mutate like his father, but worse. The Fly 2 tries to play the emotion card to stand out from the original David Cronenberg. Unfortunately, the screenplay co-written by Frank Darabont falls terribly flat. 35 years later, we remain in any case marked by its disgusting special effects and its mutant dog which traumatized our childhood.

The Son of the Maskby Lawrence Guterman (2005)

is not Jim Carrey who wants. The poor one Jamie Kennedyfigure from the saga Screamhad the bitter experience of trying to take over from him. How could they hope to reproduce the madness of the first part without the madness of its star, so charismatic under the mask? Beyond its catastrophic script, stacking Tex Avery gags in a crude manner, the sequel suffers from its too small budget. Having effects from 1994 in a film from 2005 is not very serious.

The Three Brothers, the returnby Didier Bourdon Bernard Campan Pascal Légitimus (2014)

We must be aware of the enormous popular success of the first Unknown film, a comic totem of the 1990s, whose lines made playgrounds and coffee machines laugh until they were no longer thirsty. The trio resisted popular pressure for a sequel that seemed inevitable for 20 years… But they finally gave in. Didier, Bernard and Pascal thus returned to us worn out, tired, incapable of reinjecting the same energy into the Latours as in their heyday. It must be said that Les Inconnus are no longer a trio. Everyone has been doing their own thing for a long time. And the alchemy suffers. The comedy turns into a succession of sluggish, often corny gags, and gives this sequel the air of an opportunistic money machine a la Tanned 3 (which is not in this list for the sole reason that it is not a number 2). And we bless Les Nuls for never having succumbed to the temptation of The City of Fear, the return.

The Visitors 2: the corridors of timeby Jean-Marie Poiré (1998)

Jean Reno always shouts Montjoie, Saint-Denis; Christian Clavier scream again OK! But Valérie Lemercier missing. The actress refused to come back to make a sequel that had no point. So the production decided to give the role of Béatrice de Montmirail to the star comedian of the time: Muriel Robin finds himself having to imitate his predecessor. A catastrophic performance which marks this totally failed sequel and which has long hampered the actress's desire for cinema. However, it is not only Muriel Robin who was lost in these corridors of time. Parodying himself, Poiré is incapable of proposing new things. Above all, the MacGuffin of the scenario (Godfrey must find the jewels and the relic stolen in the previous film) is abysmally poor, which completes this “binz”.

Speed ​​2: Heading for Danger, by Jan de Bont (1997)

More than Keanu Reevesand above all, no more buses! How to recycle the concept Speedwhich seems intrinsically destined not to reproduce? Jan de Bont decides to ride the growing popularity of a Sandra Bullock at the height of his glory. He puts the adorable Annie Porter back in a vehicular hostage situation, but swaps the bus speeding through Los Angeles for a large liner dragging itself across the Atlantic. A laughable pitch that holds out the stick to get beaten and seems to do it voluntarily for two hours. William Dafoe overplays the psychopathic villain, while Jason Patrick (who?) does it Keanu Reeves of the poor, crushed by a Sandra Bullock which makes a lot of money until an absurd and interminable finale. More of a parody than a sequel.

Staying Aliveby Sylvester Stallone (1983)

Disco is dying… But John Travolta wants to continue dancing. So he takes out his costume Saturday Night Fever and asks Sylvester Stallone to record his prowess on the track. Without depth, without ideas, without soul, this filmed compilation of the Bee Gees is no longer the portrait of an era, of a youth, but only a series of uninspired dance sequences. Maybe disco was buried that day.

Zoolander 2by Ben Stiller (2016)

“ How did I not see that it was so bad? ? », lamented recently Ben Stiller. A clue, already: where Zoolander maliciously mocked a mindless and haughty world of fashion, its sequel established a rather unhealthy connivance with the environment. Everyone pretends to laugh at themselves but it all smacks of the caricature of the petty bourgeois who above all doesn't want to hurt anyone. For almost two hours, Zoolander 2 chases what's going wrong on the Internet and in the world of pop media, without ever being able to put his finger on it. A film for old people who haven't seen time pass. Sad.